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The price for a typical detached house on the West Side of Vancouver soared to more than $2 million last month, an all-time high and up a startling 30.2 per cent from June of 2010, reports the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV.). The high benchmark price did not deter buyers, however, as more houses sold on the West Side last month, 214, than in any other Metro market. In East Vancouver, the typical house price is $839,867. “With sales below the 10-year average and home listings above what’s typical for the month, activity in June brought closer alignment between supply and demand,” Rosario Setticasi, REBGV president said. “With a sales-to-active-listings ratio of nearly 22 per cent, it looks like we’re in the upper end of a balanced market.” “The largest price increases continue to be in the detached home market on the Westside of Vancouver and in West Vancouver,” Setticasi said. “Since the end of May, the benchmark price of a detached home rose more than $147,000 on the Westside.” “Co-ops” explained We recently published an article on co-ops which may have confused some readers. Co-op expert and Realtor Emmanuel Lemal provides the following clarification: The proper designation of a co-op is “Apartment Corporation”. It includes an apartment building and the land on which it is built. It belongs to a private corporation. They came into existence prior to the implementation of the Condominium Act. When purchasing in a co-op, the buyer receives shares of that corporation along with a permanent lease on the unit. There is no time limit of ownership. An apartment corporation is a freehold property just like a freehold strata building with the difference that in a co-op, there is no separate land titles for each unit. The entire Apartment Corporation is registered on the Land Title as one single property. It should not be confused with government subsidized housing also called cooperatives. Government cooperatives are not handled by the Real Estate Board, and they are a completely different type of property. Apartment Corporations appeal to the more mature buyers for a variety of reasons: they are more affordable than strata-titled properties. The buyer must be approved by the Board of Directors and a minimum of 35 per cent down payment is usually required. In a co-op, there are often some restrictions on age (19+), rentals and pets. On the downside, only a handful of financial institutions (usually Credit Unions) are willing to finance co-ops. Copyright Real Estate Weekly