The market was also affected by a lack of inventory, with fewer new home listings as sellers adopted that “wait-and-see approach.” There were 4,770 homes newly listed for sale on the MLS in July, a 9.2% year-over-year decline and a 9.6% decrease compared with June 2018.

However, the sluggish absorption of new and existing inventory meant that July saw a year-over-year jump in total listings by the end of the month. The 12,137 homes available as of the end of July is a 32% increase compared with the same month last year.

This puts the region firmly into overall balanced-market territory with a sales-to-listings ratio of 17.1%. However, by property type, the ratio is a strong buyer’s market at 9.9% for detached homes, creeping towards a balanced market at 20.2% for townhomes, and still a seller’s market at 27.3% for condos.

So what does all this cooling do for home prices?

It seems price growth has finally stalled and even slightly reversed, depending on your area. The overall benchmark price – all home types across the region – now stands at $1,087,500. This is a 6.7% year-over-year increase over July 2017 but a small decline of 0.6% compared with June this year.

However, breaking sales and prices down by property type and neighbourhood, as ever, reveals wide variations.

Moore added, “With fewer buyers active in today’s market, we’re seeing less upward pressure on home prices across the region. This is most pronounced in the detached home market, but demand in the townhome and apartment markets is also relenting from the more frenetic pace experienced over the last few years.”

Sales & Prices by Property Type

A total of 637 detached Metro Vancouver homes traded on the MLS in July, a drop of 32.9% year over year and a slide of 16.8% since June this year.

Single-family home prices fell across the region, with the benchmark price now at $1,588,400. This is 1.5% decrease from July 2017 and a 0.6% slip compared with June.

However, detached home prices on Bowen Island are up 11.5% over one year ago, and up 10.3% on the Sunshine Coast and in Maple Ridge. This compares with annual price declines of 8.4% for Vancouver West’s detached homes, and 8.3% in West Vancouver.

Sales of attached homes such as duplexes, townhomes and row homes fell even further, dropping 34.8% year over year to 543 sales in July. However, this was an improvement on the dismal 419 attached sales in June this year.

Typical townhome prices across the region were still 12.1% higher than this time last year, with the benchmark price of an attached unit now at $856,000 – a small slip of 0.4% compared with June 2018. Vancouver East saw the weakest annual price growth in this home type at 4.4%, whereas Whistler townhomes are 34.9% more expensive than a year ago, followed by Squamish, up 30.6%.

Greater Vancouver condo sales totalled 1,079 in July 2018, which is 26.5% lower than the 1,468 sales in July 2017 and down nearly 13% month over month.

With the strongest price growth over the past year, the benchmark price of an apartment property is $700,500, 13.6% up from July 2017, although a 0.5% decline compared with June 2018. By area, annual condo price rises range from 36.9 per cent in Maple Ridge and 33.7% in Pitt Meadows to a low of 6.6% in Vancouver West.

Home prices vary widely in different areas throughout the region. To get a good idea of home prices in a specific location and by property type, check the detailed MLS® Home Price Index in the full REBGV statistics package.

Metro Vancouver Home Sales See Coolest July in 18 Years by Joannah Connolly | Vancouver Courier