A recent housing survey is verifying pretty much what we have been saying for months. In July, August and September the condo market has been very hot, and the detached housing market not so much.

Condo prices in Metro Vancouver are up 17.6% year-over-year, with the average condo price now at approximately $620,000.

Now might be the best opporutunity in a long time to purchase a little bigger house, particularly if you are moving from a condo or townhouse and starting a family.

The gap between condos and detached homes has shrunk by roughly $110,000, which is great news for anyone considering upgrading.

Very expensive single family homes are also correcting in terms of price. An example is West Vancouver, where prices have dropped about 10% from $3.8 million to $3.4 million.

The average price for a house in Greater Vancouver now is just over $1.5 million, and may drop a bit more as we work our way towards a more balanced market (a larger supply for the demand)

For a balanced market we need about 15,000 listings, and currently we are around 9,000.