The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday edition sales of existing homes have risen for seven months in a row. The Globe's Tara Perkins writes August's sales level was the highest since January, 2010, and just 6 per cent below the record peak in February, 2007. "This development did little to alleviate concerns that home buyer demand may be getting overly hot in Canada," RBC's Robert Hogue wrote in a research note Monday. "While brisk activity should be positive in theory, Canada's housing market may be at risk of overheating if recent trends persist." The housing market's strength is significant enough that it prompted the Canadian Real Estate Association to boost its forecast for sales this year. It now expects 475,000 existing homes will sell in 2014, up 3.8 per cent from last year. "A 30 basis point drop in mortgage rates earlier this year [has] delivered households an offer they can't refuse," said TD Bank's Diana Petramala, adding that housing activity is now about 10 per cent higher than the average level of the past decade. The Bank of Canada says the market has been stronger than expected. Calgary, Vancouver and Toronto have been lifting national averages, with Halifax and Winnipeg struggling.