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Residential home sales in the region reached 2,455 for the month, up 28.9 per cent from the 1,904 units in July 2022, according to data from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV). Sales nevertheless remained 15.6 per cent below the ten-year seasonal average.

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The MLS Home Price Index composite benchmark price for all residential properties also rose to $1,210,700, up 0.5 per cent over last year and 0.6 per cent from June 2023. Detached homes, which hit a benchmark price of $2,012,900, experienced a significant rise in sales, with 681 units sold, reflecting a 28.7 per cent increase year-over-year.

The price and sales gains came as inventories remained below last year’s levels. The total number of homes currently listed for sale on the MLS system is 10,301, indicating a four per cent decrease compared to July 2022. New listings, however, jumped 17 per cent to 4,649 units.

Andrew Lis, REBGV’s director of economics and data analytics, attributed the strong year-over-years gains in part to depressed market activity last July.

“Looking under the hood of these figures, it’s easy to see why sales are posting such a large year-over-year percentage increase,” Lis said in the Aug. 2 release. “Last July marked the point when the Bank of Canada announced their ‘super-sized’ increase to the policy rate of one full per cent, catching buyers and sellers off guard, and putting a chill on market activity at that time.”

• Email: shcampbell@postmedia.com