Canada existing home sales down in August --CREA

TORONTO, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Sales of previously owned Canadian homes fell 3.4 percent in August from July as new listings slowed and house prices slid in some western markets, the Canadian Real Estate Association said on Thursday.

Existing home sales in major markets fell 3.4 percent to 24,887 units on a month-over-month basis, according to CREA, which represents more than 97,000 real estate dealers.

On a year-over-year basis, resales were down 19.3 percent.

Average house prices fell 5.1 percent from the year before to C$316,052 ($296,160), dragged down by sales declines in the major markets of Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia; Calgary and Edmonton, Alberta; and Windsor, Ontario. The other 20 of the 25 major markets in the CREA report recorded year-over-year gains in average prices.

The number of new listings in the country's major markets fell 5.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, to 47,657 units, after four record-setting months. ($1=$1.07 Canadian) (Reporting by John McCrank; Editing by Frank McGurty)