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TORONTO — Home sales are not going to be as big of a boost to the Canadian economy this year as they were in 2016, the Canadian Real Estate Association said Monday as it released its latest batch of figures.

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The real estate association says home sales were up 2.2 per cent in December from the previous month, rebounding partially from a big drop following the introduction of new mortgage rules.

The number of homes trading hands posted the biggest monthly retreat in more than four years from October to November, CREA said.

“New regulations mean that in order to qualify for a mortgage, home buyers will either have to save longer for a bigger down payment or purchase a lower priced home,” CREA’s chief economist Gregory Klump said in a statement.