March 2008 update

The stats are out and the sales finished strong again in February. 1287 properties sold (1227 sold in Jan 08). Historical figures for February are:
2007 1886 sales
2006 1605 sales
2005 1257 sales
2004 1195 sales
So, February sales were back on track with 2005/2004 numbers. We aren't seeing the "manic" buying of the previous two years. January and February are back to "normal " levels for properties sold.
Inventory is still climbing. We are now sitting at 8284 sfd and condos for sale (7352 at end of Jan 2008). Buyers have good selection without the pressure of multiple offers bidding up the price overlist.

Prices are moving up:
Average price increase for SFD (from $379,567 to $381,965)
Average price increased for condos (from $257,956 to $264,204)
Rowhouse/duplex price went down (from $301756 to $294,780) historically this category is always more volatile because of the small segment of the market this category consists of.
Overall average price (duplex/sfd/condos) increased from $332,051 to $338,347 from Jan 2008. Prices actually increased close to 2% for all categories average.

Overall the market is still high with inventory, but I've seen three multiple offers on new listings of SFDs in the last 2 weeks in the lower price ranges (under $450,000 in the better neighbourhoods and under $350,000 in the average areas). Both homes selling for under list price and with conditions, which is of course different from the previous 2 years where we saw unconditional overlist offers.
For buyers this market has been the best of both worlds. Prices have stabilized and have started to increase over the last 3 consecutive months, and there is a good selection of homes for sale. I'm not predicting a large increase in prices as of yet. The prices should be strong though, the inflow of buyers this spring will continue to work on the supply of homes for sale.

For sellers, pricing is very important. Tacking on $10,000 or $20,000 to a realistic sales price just doesn't work in this market. The realistic sellers are selling quicker than the 60 day on market average. Those testing the market, are either not selling or having to reduce their price below market value in order to generate offers.