'Wait and see': Toronto, Vancouver home sales plummet as buyers hang around

Canadian housing might not be a buyers' market quite yet, but a shift away from the rapid price increases of the past few years is well underway with home sales in both the Greater Toronto and Vancouver Areas dropping significantly.

July sales in both regions plummeted by more than 40 per cent from last summer and more than 20 per cent from June.

While both markets have seen an easing take shape in recent months, the softening was even more evident in July, when Toronto's real estate board found GTA home sales amounted to 4,912, a 47 per cent fall from the same time last year and 24 per cent decrease from this past June. 

GVA sales similarly dropped 43 per cent from last July and 23 per cent from this past June to reach 1,887 last month, Vancouver's board said.