By Fergal Smith
TORONTO, Sept 3 (Reuters) – Greater Toronto Area home sales fell in August for the first time in six months as worries about trade and the threat of higher borrowing costs put off some buyers, Toronto Regional Real Estate Board data showed on Thursday.
• Seasonally adjusted sales decreased 1.3% last month from July to 5,484 units, ending a string of gains since March.
• The board’s home price index was down 0.1% month-over-month, after seasonal adjustment, to C$931,200 ($672,784).
• The Greater Toronto Area includes Canada’s most populous city and four surrounding regional municipalities.
• “The main hold-back for many households has been concerns around trade with the United States and the potential for higher inflation and borrowing costs in the future,” the board’s chief information officer, Jason Mercer, said in a statement.
• The Bank of Canada on Wednesday kept its key policy rate on hold at 2.25%, but Governor Tiff Macklem said policymakers were prepared to raise borrowing costs multiple times if inflation remained too high.
• Last month, the U.S. imposed new 50% tariffs on $20 billion of Canadian imports after talks between the two countries collapsed.
• On a year-over-year basis, home sales fell 2.1%, while new listings declined 14.1% and the price index was down 4.5%.
($1 = 1.3841 Canadian dollars)
(Reporting by Fergal Smith; editing by David Gaffen)
