Home sales continued to slump last month in Metro Vancouver, as potential buyers back off because of rising interest rates, according to the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver.

The board reported Wednesday that only 1,887 were sold in July, a 43.3% decrease from the 3,326 homes sold in July 2021. That number also represents a 22.8% drop from the 2,444 homes sold in June.

Last month’s sales were 35.2% below the 10-year July sales average, according to the report.

REBGV chair Daniel John said home buyers are exercising more caution because of rising interest rates and inflationary concerns.

“This allowed the selection of homes for sale to increase and prices to edge down in the region over the last three months,” he said, in a statement Wednesday.

The total number of homes currently listed for sale on the MLS in Metro Vancouver is 10,288, which according to the report is a 4.4% increase compared to July 2021 and a 1.3% decrease compared to June.

“After two years of market conditions that favoured home sellers, home buyers now have more selection to choose from and more time to make their decision,” said John, in the statement.

“In today’s changing housing market, both home buyers and sellers should invest the time to understand what these changes mean for their personal circumstances.”

As for prices, they are still higher than last year at the same time, but down slightly from the month previous. The reports says the composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver is currently $1,207,400, which is a 10.3% increase over July 2021 and a 2.3% decrease compared with June.

The benchmark price for a detached home in Metro Vancouver is $2,000,600. This represents an 11% increase from last July but a 2.8% decrease from June.

The cost of a condo fared similarly with $755,000 — an 11.4% increase from July 2021 but a 1.5% drop from the month before.

The benchmark cost of a townhome, meantime, was $1,096,500, a 15.8% increase from last July and a 1.7% decrease compared with June.

Areas covered by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver include : Burnaby, Coquitlam, Maple Ridge, New Westminster, North Vancouver, Pitt Meadows, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, Richmond, South Delta, Squamish, Sunshine Coast, Vancouver, West Vancouver, and Whistler.

Home Sales Continue to Slump in Metro Vancouver by Tiffany Crawford | Vancouver Sun