Vancouver area home sales for July slide 5% from last year

Greater Vancouver Realtors says July's home sales in the region dropped five per cent from the same month a year ago, even as the number of new listings jumped 20 per cent.

The real estate body says sales in the market totalled 2,333 last month, while new listings reached 5,597.

The composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver was about $1.2 million. That's a 0.8 per cent decrease from both July 2023 and from June 2024.

Greater Vancouver Realtors' director of economics and data analytics says the numbers indicate the buyer hesitancythat materialized months ago continued in July.

Andrew Lis says the trend persisted despite another cut to the Bank of Canada's policy rate and a rush of new inventory.

He says it's also surprising to see transaction levels remain below historical norms during the mid-point of summer, which the numbers cover.

The areas and municipalities covered by Greater Vancouver Realtors are Bowen Island, Burnaby, Coquitlam, Maple Ridge, New Westminster, North Vancouver, Pitt Meadows, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, Richmond, South Delta, Squamish, the Sunshine Coast, Vancouver, West Vancouver and Whistler.