In its January 2013 report on the Vanouver-Abbotsford Census Market Area (CMA) CMHC that despite the fact that the market swung towards buyers through the last half of 2012, selling price drops were less than would have otherwise been expected. CMHC posits that this result may be explained by the phenomenon of Sellers withdrawing their properties from the market rather than accepting lower prices. The report also notes that statistics can become skewed by outlying values. I have always believed that news reports and statistics should be only one aspect of a real estate evaluation and decision. What is true now more than ever is that markets for different property types behave very differently than the "average" property. This is where a Realtor's expertise and perspective is most important in helping you put property values in the proper perspective.
See Report: http://keithpulling.com/_media/Documents/Housing%20NOW%20-%20Vancouver%20-%20CMHC%20-%20January%202013.pdf.
What do you think? Write or call me any time.