OTTAWA -- The Canadian Real Estate Association has downgraded its sales forecast this year as national home sales slipped 9.9 per cent in August compared with a year ago.
The association expects sales to decline by 5.3 per cent year-over-year to 506,900 changing hands this year, or 20,000 fewer than previously forecast in June.
It projects sales in British Columbia and Ontario to fall by about 10 per cent in 2017, compared to record highs set in 2016.
The association says sales in August were down in nearly two-thirds of all local markets, led by the Greater Toronto Area and nearby housing markets.
However, the average price for a home sold last month was $472,247, up 3.6 per cent compared to a year ago.
Excluding Greater Vancouver and Greater Toronto, the national average price was $373,859.
