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The number of residential property sales in the greater Vancouver region fell by 5.6 per cent in 2016 — including a nearly 40 per cent year-over-year plunge in December alone — as governments took steps aimed at reining in red-hot real estate markets in parts of the country.

Figures released by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver on Wednesday, however, showed that house prices have cooled by only 2.2 per cent over the past six months, with the MLS Home Price Index composite benchmark price of all residential properties in Metro Vancouver ending the year at $897,600.

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“The spate of federal and provincial measures has seen the Vancouver market temporarily freeze in its tracks, as buyers and sellers both try to assess the implications for valuations ahead,” said Avery Shenfeld, chief economist at CIBC Capital Markets.

The interventions include a 15 per cent land transfer tax imposed on foreign buyers by the government of British Columbia. The federal government also made changes, including tightening qualifications for mortgage default insurance with the aim of ensuring homebuyers could manage their monthly payments at higher interest rates.