Vancouver’s July home sales slid 5% from last year, listings up 20%

VANCOUVER – Greater Vancouver Realtors says last month’s home sales in the region dropped five per cent from 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 both a 0.8 per cent decrease from last July 2023 and from June 2024.

Greater Vancouver Realtors’ director of economics and data analytics says the numbers indicate the buyer hesitance that 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.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 2, 2024.