July’s data showed a month of subtle surprises. Inventory levels across the board declined in July, though only slightly. New inventory decreased 0.4% from June and remained down 23.1% year-over-year, while used inventory declined just 0.1% and is now up 14.2% year-over-year.
With inventory levels relatively flat on a month-over-month basis, we saw similarly small changes to average listing prices. The average new vehicle listing price declined by 0.1% while remaining up 37.1% year-over-year, and used prices increased 0.2% in July and 40.5% year-over-year.
What caused this rise in used prices with inventory dropping? An increase in days-on-market of higher-priced vehicles led to the shift, with used average days-on-market rising 4.4% in July and new days-on-market increasing 2%, thus causing effectively flat prices.
While the changes were subtle, they could hint at a potential inflection point for the market toward a new equilibrium.
To learn more about vehicle inventory trends, download the July 2022 edition of the CarGurus Canada Vehicle Availability Index & Insights Report.