Luxury slips in Vancouver, up in Toronto

TORONTO — A report by Sotheby’s International Realty Canada said sales of luxury homes in Vancouver cooled in July and August, but the high-end market picked up in the Toronto area.

The real estate firm said the new foreign buyer tax introduced in Vancouver in August has injected uncertainty into that city’s market, which is expected to moderate headed into the fall.

Sotheby’s said escalating interest from foreign buyers as well as strong local market fundamentals are expected to boost the Toronto area market.

Sales of single-family homes over $1 million in Vancouver in July fell 30 per cent compared with a year ago to 193.

In August, sales were down 65 per cent compared with a year ago, falling to 95.

Vancouver condominium sales over $1 million in July totalled 93 — up 29 per cent from a year ago — but sales in August fell 49 per cent compared with the same month last year, dropping to 40.

The Greater Toronto Area saw sales of $1-million single-family homes in July and August climb 83 per cent compared with a year ago to 3,026, and 55 per cent to 959 in the city of Toronto.

“The two cities that have been at the forefront of the Canadian real estate market have been Toronto and Vancouver, and we are going to see a clear divergence between their performance this fall,” Brad Henderson, president and CEO of Sotheby’s International Realty Canada, said in a statement. “Vancouver’s recordsetting sprint will return to a more moderate pace, but Toronto’s market cadence is set to accelerate.”