The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver says a jump in new listings is helping to bring some balance back to the region's housing market.

The board says September sales totalled 1,926, a 13.2 per cent increase from the 1,701 sales recorded the same month last year. But the total was 26.3 per cent below the 10-year seasonal average of 2,614 and marked a 16.1 per cent drop from 2,296 sales in August.

The figures include multifamily and land sales, which the board says typically account for less than one to two per cent of those totals.

There were 5,446 new listings last month, a 28.4 per cent increase from a year earlier, as new listings were 5.2 per cent above the 10-year seasonal average.

The composite benchmark home price in September for Metro Vancouver was $1,203,300, a 4.4 per cent increase from September 2022 and a 0.4 per cent decrease from August 2023.

Andrew Lis, the board's director of economics and data analytics, says the upward shift in new listings has allowed overall inventory levels to recover modestly after a spring and summer that saw reluctance by homeowners to list their homes amid high mortgage rates.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 4, 2023.