Vancouver by Gord McKenna

New listings for detached, attached, and apartment properties amounted to 4,802 — reaching a 5.8 per cent decrease in growth compared to July 2011, when new listings amounted to 5,097. This represents a 14.5 per cent increase compared to June, when 5,617 homes were added to the MLS® in Greater Vancouver.

This month’s sales were the lowest total for the month in the region since 2000. They were staggering 31.2 per cent below the ten-year July sales average of 3,051. Residential property of detached, attached, and apartment property sales reached 2,098 on the Multiple Listing Service®, falling by 18.4 per cent compared to July 2011 with 2,571 recorded. This also represents a 11.2 per cent decline compared to the 2,362 sales in June 2012.

The total number of homes listed for sale on the region’s MLS® reached 18,081, increasing by 18.8 per cent compared to last year’s results. This also represents 2.2 per cent fall compared to same time the previous month.

• Detached property sales on the MLS® (787 units) experienced a huge 28.4 per cent fall compared to July 2011 (1,099 units) and a 13.3 per cent decline compared to July 2010 (908 units). The benchmark price grew by 1.4 per cent from July 2011 to $950,200 and declined 1.2 per cent compared to last month.

• Apartment property sales (927) declined 10.9 per cent compared to July 2011 (1,040) and 5.3 per cent compared to July 2010 (979) the benchmark price remains identical to July 2011 stats, at $374,300, and have declined 0.5 per cent compared to last month.

• Attached property sales (384 units) experienced an 11.1 per cent decline compared to July 2011 (432 units), and a marginal 4.3 per cent decrease compared to July 2010 (368 units). The benchmark price fell by 0.5 per cent since July 2011 to $468,700 and remained relatively unchanged compared to last month.

The MLS® Home Price Index (MLS®HPI) composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver over the last 12 months has increased 0.6 per cent to $616,000 and declined 0.7 per cent compared to last month.

“People appear to be cautious about making significant financial decisions right now. While our local economy appears to be quite robust, there may be some concern about the impact of international markets and the federal government’s tightening of mortgage regulations,”

noted Eugen Klein, REBGV president.