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Vancouver home sales drop from record-breaking pace

Xinhua, August 4, 2016 Adjust font size:

Home sales in Greater Vancouver dropped in July after months of record-breaking sales, apparently thanks to a new tax on foreign buyers, statistics showed on Wednesday.

Residential property sales in the region totalled 3,226 in July 2016, a decline of 18.9 percent from 3,978 sales in July 2015, according to figures from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver.

The figures also represented a 26.7 percent decrease from June of this year when 4,400 properties were sold, the real estate board said in a statement.

"After several months of record-breaking sales activity, homebuyers demand returned to more historically normal levels in July," said Dan Morrison, the president of the real estate board.

It's the first time since January that home sales in the region were below the 4,000 mark, the statement added.

The British Columbia government announced on July 25 that foreign buyers of Metro Vancouver residential estate must pay an extra 15 percent of property transfer tax starting from Aug. 2, aiming at curbing surging house prices in Greater Vancouver. Endi