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Mr. Soper said some of the foreign investment has cooled in the market and it’s still not clear whether low mortgage rates will have enough of an impact to pull the market back.

“I think if people sense a potentially softening in prices, they might step back in and if there is a sign of economic resurgence and increased interest from China and Hong Kong,” he said.

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For now the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver reported the worst July since 2000, and 31.2% below the 10-year average for the month of 3,051 sales.

The board said there were 2,098 residential property sales of detached, attached and apartment properties in July — off 18.4% from a year ago.

“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,” said Eugen Klein, president of the board.

Prices continue to hold with the board saying the composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver rose 0.6% to $616,000 from a year ago but dropped 0.7% from June.

New listings hit 4,082 in July which is the lowest number of new listings for any month in 2012 and a 5.8% drop from July 2011. It was also a 14.5% decline from June.

Despite that drop, there were still 18,081 active listings in the month, which is an 18.8% increase from a year ago and a 2.2% increase from June. There is little doubt Vancouver is now a buyer’s market, according to many realtors.