Detached:  The current Benchmark Price of a detached home in the Westside is $1,656,986, an increase of 47% over the past year, according to the Housing Price Index just released by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver.  That huge increase takes into account an unexpected rebound from the bottom of the market in the first quarter of 2009.  A low supply of inventory during the first quarter of 2010, coupled with strong demand predominantly from offshore buyers has kept pressure on detached housing prices.  New listings to the market in the month of March increased by 68% over February, but sales also increased by 60%.  The sales to listing ratio for the month of March 2010 is 56% which makes for a healthy market.

Townhouses:  The Townhouse and Condo market have followed the general trend of the Detached market, but the price recovery has been more moderate, due to reasonable levels of inventory.  The Benchmark Price for a Townhouse in the West Side is currently $770,766, up 23.4% in the past year.  Inventory is up by 103% from the previous month, and the number of sales are up by only 18%, a marked difference from the Detached market, with a sale to list ratio of 37%.

Condominiums:  Benchmark prices are at $509,246, up 20.6% from a year ago.  The number of new lsitings was up by 94% compared to February, but the number sales are only 13% up, with a sale to list ratio of 33%.  Several major banks increased fixed interest rates by 6 points last week, and this has caused a spurt of buying activity by those with lower locked in rates, and we expect the sales of Condominiums to increase going forward into the Spring market.

Prices are back to peak levels, and if we see the inventory continue on an upward trend, the market may achieve more balance in the second quarter.  After July 1st, it's anybody's guess. 

The proposed HST will hit a lot of home buyers and sellers in the pocketbook, as they will be facing an extra 7% on all services related to buying and selling a home that are not currently taxed.  Unfortunately, the media has not focused on the real financial impact to those in the market, and many will be caught by surprise, possibly pushing them out of the market for the time being.  As a tax payer and voter, I am not ashamed to say that I am totally opposed to the HST in its current form, and have already signed the only Legal petition against it, at last night's first Ralley in the Point Grey riding.  Visit www.fighthst.com to be informed of how you can sign the Legal petition if you are opposed to the HST.