Vancouver home sales retreat

Metro Vancouver home sales fell 9.8% in July, erasing the brief summer gains of the prior month and landing 18.6% below the region's 10-year seasonal average, according to Greater Vancouver Realtors (GVR).

The board reported 2,061 residential transactions for the month, down from 2,286 in July 2025 and well below the 10-year seasonal norm of 2,532.

The result reversed approximately the same 10% year-over-year gain logged in June, which had raised expectations for sustained summer momentum.

"Last month, we reported gains in home sales across all home types, raising the question of whether demand would continue to build into the summer," said Andrew Lis, GVR's chief economist and vice-president of data analytics.

"Instead, July sales were down nearly ten per cent, led by an 18% drop in apartment sales, confirming to market watchers that the June momentum was not sustained. Over the past few years, the sales activity story has often been one step forward, one step back, and the June and July data are a prime example of this pattern."

Apartments bore the sharpest correction, with sales declining 17.8% year-over-year to 952 units. Detached sales slipped 3.2% to 639, and attached home transactions edged 1.1% lower to 454.

The divergence between segments reflects a pattern when Metro Vancouver's condo market posted a 7.2% annual sales decline even as ground-level housing held relatively firm.

Vancouver broker Kyle Green previously told Canadian Mortgage Professional he expected that split to persist through the second half of 2026.

"A lot of economists were predicting that the second half of the year would be a little bit better, in particular with the detached market," Green said. 

Listings retreat alongside sales

New listings totalled 4,991 in July, an 11.5% decline from 5,642 a year earlier, but landed essentially on the 10-year seasonal average of 4,992.

Active inventory stood at 16,476, down 4% year-over-year yet still 26.8% above the long-term average, keeping the market broadly well-supplied.

Lis noted that the pullback was not limited to the sales side. "New listings were also down 11%, largely due to a nearly 17% drop in apartment listings," he said.

"We've been pointing to the slowdown in sellers coming to market for several months, and it's beginning to translate into a gradual decline in the overall inventory level. This shift remains in early days, and with sales in a holding pattern, price pressures of significance in either direction aren't showing up in the data quite yet, with prices down roughly one per cent in July."

Prices ease across all property types

The MLS Home Price Index composite benchmark for all residential properties came in at $1,088,800 in July, down 6.2% from July 2025 and 0.9% below June 2026.

Detached homes carried a benchmark of $1,822,900, down 7% annually and 1.1% from June.

Apartments tracked at $688,000, a 7.5% annual decline and 1% lower than the prior month.

Townhouses registered $1,030,400, down 6% year-over-year and 1.5% from June.

The sales-to-active listings ratio sat at 13% across all property types — 10.5% for detached, 15.8% for attached, and 14% for apartments.

Historical GVR analysis indicates downward price pressure typically emerges when the ratio dips below 12% for a sustained period, placing the detached segment squarely in that territory.

For mortgage brokers advising clients on timing, sales nationally inched higher in June, but Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) revised its full-year outlook down to a 1.4% decline in transactions for 2026. 

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