Calm seems to be returning to the local housing market.
Although it’s still too soon to tell if the market has cooled off from its red hot pace through the first six months of the year.

James Garbutt New Westminster realtor local housing market calms update July
The local housing market was calmer in July than the previous six months of 2016.

 
For the first time since January, fewer than 4,000 homes were sold in July. In fact, the 3,226 sales recorded by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver was 26.7 per cent fewer than the 4,400 sales in June, and nearly 19 per cent less than the 3,978 sales in July, 2015.
“After several months of record-breaking sales activity, home buyer demand returned to more historically normal levels in July,” said Dan Morrison, the president of the REBGV.
The moderating sales started in late June and carried into July, said Morrison. Still, sales for the month were 6.5 per cent higher than the average for July over the past 10 years.
“We’ll wait and watch over the next few months to see if this marks the return of more normal market trends.”

Local housing market inventory still tight

There’s still not a lot of properties for sale.
The ratio of sales to active listings remains high at 38.6 per cent. Analysts generally believe prices don’t start coming down until that ratio dips below 12 per cent.
The benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver is $930,400. That’s 32.6 per cent more than it was last July.
The benchmark price is the price of a typical home in that category.
While the number of detached properties sold in July was 30.9 per cent less than in July, 2015, their benchmark price increased by 38 per cent to $1,578,300.
Sales of apartments decreased 7.3 per cent from last July, but their benchmark price increased  27.4 per cent to $510,600.
Attached property sales decreased 20.7 per cent while their benchmark price increased 29.4 per cent to $669,900.
In New Westminster, the benchmark price for all properties is $529,500. That’s a 29.6 per cent increase over last July. For single family detached homes, the benchmark price is $1,098,400, a 37.4 per cent increase over the past year.
Click here for all of July’s sales statistics.