CANADA'S REAL ESTATE MARKET IS DEFINITELY STARTING TO COOL OFF. NEW NUMBERS FROM THE REAL ESTATE ASSOCIATION CONFIRM THAT ACTIVITY SLOWED DOWN SHARPLY IN AUGUST. BUT IN KINGSTON, THE HOUSING PICTURE REMAINS STRONG. NEWSWATCH'S BRADEN DRAGOMIR HAS MORE.

EVEN IN TURBULENT TIMES....KINGSTON'S HOUSING MARKET IS HOLDING ITS OWN.

"NATIONALLY THERE'S NO QUESTION THAT THE VOLUME OF SALES IS DECLINING, BUT IN KINGSTON THE TREND IS ACTUALLY IN REVERSE IF YOU LOOK AT THE LAST SEVERAL MONTHS."

ACCORDING TO THE MLS SYSTEM 259 HOMES WERE SOLD IN KINGSTON IN AUGUST, DOWN 3 PERCENT FROM AUGUST OF 2011. BUT FOR THE ENTIRE YEAR SO FAR, MORE THAN 25-HUNDRED HOMES CHANGED HANDS... AND THAT'S A 9 PERCENT JUMP COMPARED WITH LAST YEAR.

"AUGUST IS A BIT OF A PROBLEMATIC MONTH, I MEAN IT IS THE HEART OF THE SUMMERTIME AND PEOPLES PRIORITIES DO TEND TO CHANGE FOCUS, I.E. YOU KNOW HOLIDAYS, COTTAGES, THOSE KINDS OF THINGS."

"AND WHILE MANY PEOPLE WANT TO KNOW IF KINGSTON IS A BUYER OR SELLERS MARKET, JOHN ANDREWS SAYS KINGSTON IS SITTING PERFECTLY IN THE MIDDLE."

"THE INTERESTING THING IS IT'S EXACTLY BALANCED. THE METRIC THAT WE NORMALLY USED IS THE RATIO OF SALES TO NEW LISTINGS. IN AUGUST IT WAS EXACTLY 50 PERCENT."

HAVING WEATHERED THE SLOW SUMMER MONTHS, THE REAL ESTATE ASSOCIATION IS NOW FOCUSING ON  THE FALL.

"THE FALL CAN BE A VERY STRONG TIME OF YEAR, HISTORICALLY AFTER SORT OF THE SUMMER DOLDRUMS I GUESS IF YOU WILL, PEOPLE WILL GET SETTLED, KIDS BACK TO SCHOOL, AND FOCUS ON WHAT THEY WANT TO DO."

EXPERTS SAYNATIONAL HOME SALES HAVE SLOWED IN RECENT MONTHS DUE TO STRICTER MORTGAGE RULES BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.... RULES THAT DON'T SEEM TO BE IMPACTING KINGSTON'S REAL ESTATE MARKET. IN FACT, THE AVERAGE HOUSE PRICE HERE HAS RISEN 5 PERCENT TO 262-THOUSAND DOLLARS. BRADEN DRAGOMIR, CKWS NEWSWATCH, KINGSTON.