Article content

Housing sales figures may be declining in Toronto and Vancouver, but with listings remaining scarce, economists are warning that significant gains in affordability may prove elusive.

Existing home sales in Toronto fell 15.1 per cent in June, a second-consecutive monthly decline that left resale activity 42 per cent below its March peak, according to a report from TD Economics.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Toronto, Vancouver home sales slow, but don't expect prices to follow Back to video

June sales were also weak in Vancouver, falling 4 per cent from the previous month and 29 per cent below their February 2016 high, after a recovery blip petered out.

But when it comes to prices, the declines haven’t been nearly as dramatic, and likely won’t be until more houses hit the market.

“Toronto cooled in terms of sales quite abruptly, on par with 2008-2009 recession but you didn’t see much of a decline in prices because the market still remains short on supply,” said TD economist Diana Petramala. “When listings grow faster than sales, it will put downward pressure on prices.”