A report from the Georgia Straight in Canada. "Local real-estate agents are finding it much tougher to generate income through commissions. That's because July's residential sales fell to their lowest level in that month since 2000 in the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver's territory. It extends from Whistler to the Lower Mainland. There were 2,070 residential property sales in the REBGV last month, down 30.1 percent from the same month in 2017. Sales last month were off 14.6 percent from June. West Side of Vancouver detached homes saw biggest price drop in any category and location over the last year. They're down 8.4 percent, compared to an 8.3 percent drop for detached homes in West Vancouver over the same period."

The Tri-City News. "Just like the ground, real estate sales in the Tri-Cities are drying up this summer. According to statistics released by the Greater Vancouver Real Estate Board, in May, June and July the Coquitlam house market saw the number of sales drop 49.3% from 363 in the summer of ’17 to 184 this year, townhouse sales go down 44% (166 to 93) and condos 40.8% (419 to 248). In Port Moody, house sales decreased 43.5% (69 to 39), condos 41.4% (128-75) and townhouses 34.2% (73 to 48)."

"The last three months of PoCo house sales were down 40.4% (178 to 106) compared to the same three months in 2017. The last month was particularly precipitous in PoCo with it going from 47 sales in June to 22 in July, a drop of 53.2%. Three-month townhouse sales dipped 40.5% from 11 to 66 and condos 29.3% (174 to 123)."

The Vancouver Sun. "Following the bombshell report detailing how Vancouver-area casinos became hubs of international money laundering, the second phase of B.C.’s battle against dirty money is expected to target real estate. And while the real estate sector largely drives B.C.’s economy, many members of the industry appear to have significant work to do on this front. According to data obtained by Postmedia News, Canada’s financial intelligence watchdog found 'significant' and 'very significant' deficiencies in the anti-money laundering controls at 88 per cent of real estate entities they examined in B.C. over the last two years."

"Money laundering has been a hot topic in B.C., especially this summer. In late June, former RCMP deputy commissioner Peter German delivered his damning report into how Lower Mainland casinos operated for years, he said, as 'laundromats for the proceeds of organized crime.' The following week, B.C. Attorney General David Eby said the next phase of German’s work will focus on monetary transactions linked to the housing market. German, The Canadian Press reported, 'predicts the second phase will be a ‘larger beast to tackle,’ because he says real estate drives the economy in B.C., while gaming has had less of an overall impact."

"A large beast indeed. Real estate is vital to the economy of Vancouver and B.C. The real estate and construction industries combine to represent more than a quarter of British Columbia’s gross domestic product, according to Statistics Canada, representing a bigger portion of B.C.’s economy than the oil and gas sector accounts for in Alberta."

From Next Shark. "A theatrical poster of 'Crazy Rich Asians' in Vancouver, Canada was vandalized with racist comments ahead of the movie’s opening this month. Twitter user @jojocake found the poster installed in a bus shelter in an 'affluent neighborhood.' 'A bus shelter with this poster in an affluent neighbourhood in Vancouver was vandalized with racist comments. Extremely upsetting.'"

"Lead actress Constance Wu had the words 'stupid chinx' written on her face and 'money laundering thiefs' on her arm."

"However, @jojocake believes that the offensive act may actually directed at Vancouver’s housing problem. 'This doesn’t justify the act in any way, but I think the vandals’ motives have less to do with the movie and more with the Vancouver housing crisis and foreign investors. But they should be turning to the government for better regulation, certainly not an entire race of people.'"

From CTV News Vancouver. "A Langley, B.C. condominium complex was supposed to be home for dozens of pre-sale buyers, but instead, the development is sitting empty. Last year, the project went into court-ordered receivership, meaning a court-appointed individual was given responsibility over the property which serves as collateral for a loan. In court reports, the receiver for Murrayville said they'd found some of the units were pre-sold more than once – and as many as four times in some cases."

"Future homebuyers considering a pre-sale property might be surprised to find out what's in the fine print. They're drawn in by glitzy showrooms that allow them to choose their unit and finishes, and many sign contracts without really understanding them. 'People don't read the last 10-15 pages. They just look at the first page, the price, how many parking spaces I get, is there GST on it? And that's it,' said real estate lawyer Kenneth Pazder."

"If they did read the whole contract, they'd learn many things they thought were guaranteed – such as what floor the unit is on, the view, square footage and finishes – can actually be changed by the developer. For example, Pazder said, the kitchen might be in a different location, or the unit might be facing a different way. 'But why people haven't complained is because in the last 10 years or so, by the time your condo has closed, it's gone up by $50,000 to $100,000, so I'm buying it anyway, regardless of what's going on,' he said. 'But you can't bank on that. You can't always say, 'It will be worth more by the time I close.' So that's another risk.'"

The Leader Post. "Another piece of Regina’s Economic Report Card showed a 17.8-per-cent drop in housing starts in the first half of this year compared to 2017. 'I think the housing market is over built, but it’s not a structural problem,' said David Froh, vice-president of Economic Development Regina (EDR), an arm of the City of Regina. 'We’ve seen in our community a significant build-up in the housing and condo market, and with current absorption rates, it’s going to take a while to catch up.'"

"He said this is positive for homebuyers because it makes homes more affordable, but it might take longer to sell, and demand for construction services will be lower. Gord Archibald, CEO of the Association of Regina Realtors, said housing demand has been down, resulting in less building. 'I think the builders are simply reacting to what they’re seeing take place in the marketplace. There’s less demand out there than what there had been, so they’re pulling back on the supply side,' he said."

"Right now, supply numbers are high. The listing service used by Regina Realtors has had around 1,700 listings on it the past couple of months, said Archibald. Comparatively, there was an average of around 500 listings five years ago. Home prices have dropped 6.1 per cent over the past 12 months alone, and sales have declined in the past couple of years too, he said. 'There’s a direct correlation between economic growth, job growth and population growth, because all of those contribute to demand for housing, and of course those factors have been down in recent years,' he said."

The St. Albert Gazette. "Home-buyers looking for a new place to live are in luck. The market is currently drowning with more than 10,000 homes up for sale across the Edmonton metro area, which hasn’t happened since 2008. Darcy Torhjelm, chair of the Realtors Association of Edmonton, said the state of the economy is a key factor in current market conditions. 'There’s a lot of questions out there in regards to the economy. What’s going to happen, we keep getting all these news flashes about tariffs and new problems. There needs to be a confidence in the economy.'"

"According to the latest report released by the association, in July the number of homes on the market increased by 12.62 per cent year over year, with 10,094 currently up for sale. It’s also taking longer for homes to be sold. Last month, the average house sat on the market for an average of 57 days before being snatched up. In response, homeowners have been slashing prices in order to get a sale. 'There’s a lot of choice for buyers, which is good. A lot of buyers are still looking in the lower price categories, which I think is why you could be seeing more of the average price dropping,' he explained."

"Regardless of what’s happening in St. Albert, overall the market remains over-saturated across the region. To combat this, sellers need to make sure their houses are up to par before putting it on the market, Torhjelm said. When it comes to the future of the market, he doubts change will happen any time soon. Instead, sellers should consider whether right now is truly the time to put their home up for sale."

"'Sellers have really got to evaluate why they’re selling. If they’re just selling and they don’t have a plan moving forward, then that could be problematic,' he stressed. 'Right now, you’re not going to get your top dollar and it’s harder to find a buyer right now. Unless you really desperately have to sell, I think right now is the time to not be in that position.'"