Greater Vancouver realtors processed 38,050 sales through the Multiple Listing Service in 2007, a figure 7.2 per cent higher than the previous year, but still 6.1 per cent off the record in 2005.

Prices were also up between 11.4 per cent on single-family homes for the year, and 14.4 per cent on condominiums.

Across the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver's territory, the so-calledbenchmark" the price for a typical single-family home hit $730,399 by December, almost 96 per cent higher than five years ago.

The benchmark townhouse price of $456,941 is slightly more than double what it was five years ago, and condominiums, with a $377,579 benchmark in December, are up 111 per cent.

Fraser Valley realtors processed 16,547 MLS sales in 2007, three per cent more than in 2006. Prices for single-family homes were up 11.4 per cent, and condos were up 14.9 per cent.

In the past five years, the average single-family house price in the valley has increased almost 92 per cent to $520,317. The average Fraser Valley townhouse price has risen almost 75 per cent to hit $322,578, and average condominium prices are up 93 per cent to $216,990.

Higher prices keep pushing buyers into smaller or more suburban properties. First-time buyers are going for condominiums, while people looking for more space are buying further away from Vancouver's core.

Banker Jeff Starchuk was among the latter, opting to trade an ordinary bungalow in Burnaby and a miserable commute to North Vancouver for a job transfer and an executive-style house in east Abbotsford.

"It was pretty well a straight-across trade," Starchuk said of the new, 4,000-square-foot $650,000 house in a gated community he and his husband Grant Berjian were able to pick up.

The couple was perhaps disappointed to move out of Greater Vancouver, "but when you look at what you get [for housing] in relation, it's probably not that big a sacrifice, unless I wanted to be downtown every day."

NEWS: MARKET UNRAVEL

• Ritz Carlton 'stalled'
• Real Estate Price Drops Signals Cycle Change
• Building Boom Cools
• Housing slump stalks Western Canada 

COMMENTARY

When its sunny in Vancouver its hard to beat this place.    Disciplined yoga teacher entice us to 7:00 a.m. yoga classes so we can be baited to move to more advanced positions like shoulder stand and headstand.   So back to gardening by 8:30 when its bright + perfect.   Ahhh...perhaps a walk at the end of the day by the beach.     Some days  we are lucky to be on the boat.

Downtown Vancouver is walking distance to a 1,000 acre park and some of the world's most spectacular scenery.    Clean air.   Where else can one have top grade housing at incredibly affordable prices, by world-class standards?   And good food.    Good Asian food to boot.   Operating costs for similar lifestyle is a fraction of the cost.   Canadians have no idea they have it so good.   The market is adapting to its ever changing audience.    

One of the best buys available in today's market is a furnished two-bedroom unit adjacent to Stanley Park with the city's most spectacular 360-degree view.  Check out Presidio Penthouse  .

The city continues to evolve with international players coming into the marketplace but one of the most interesting growth areas of the city is at the centre of the city.

Microsoft announces plans for Vancouver software centre

Greater Vancouver will be home to Microsoft's first software development centre to be opened in Canada, the company announced today.

The facility, to open in the fall, will have about 200 employees, a number that could as high as 800. It will draw on software developers from the around the world and join a small number of development centres outside the software giant's Redmond, Wash., headquarters.

"This is an exciting announcement for us," said Phil Sorgen, president of Microsoft Canada, which currently has 940 employees across the country with about 60 based in Vancouver

It is a first for Microsoft Canada. To put this in perspective there are probably no more than a handful of these around the world."

Sorgen said while Microsoft hasn't yet confirmed the location of the new centre, the company is exploring sites in Richmond, Vancouver and Burnaby.

Sorgen said the ability to attract top technology talent was a major factor in Microsoft's decision to locate its newest development centre here, with Vancouver's proximity to the Redmond headquarters an added bonus.

"Vancouver is such an international gateway with a diverse population and a reach that gives us access to the best and brightest population, that is what I would say is the No. 1 interest in the Vancouver market," said Sorgen.

He said employees are looking for not just compensation but also work-life balance, access to education, the arts and recreation and other factors that influence their career decisions.

"Vancouver has a lot to offer in that area," he said. "Vancouver is a very appealing market and when you are competing for the best and the brightest talent, we want to ensure we have a work environment in a location people want to work and live in. We think Vancouver is going to help us attract talent."

Sorgen said the company will be hiring developers from around the world to staff the new facility and job offers have already started to go out, with the opening expected for September or October.

The Microsoft expansion here is seen not only as a coup for the province but as good news for a country that is struggling to see its technology sector compete on the world stage.

"It is great news not just for Vancouver but for Canada," said Anne Golden, president of the Conference Board of Canada. "Initially they are trying to create about 200 jobs; ultimately I think they hope to have in the category of 800 jobs.

"It is important not just in the short term; ultimately they will be attracting skilled software developers to Canada. It is the kind of investment that those of us who are concerned about promoting innovation in Canada have called for."

The Microsoft Canada Development Centre joins others outside the Redmond headquarters, including ones located in North Carolina, Ireland, Denmark, and Israel.

The company also has full research and development centres in the United Kingdom, India, China, and the Silicon Valley.

The Canadian announcement follows on the heels of recently announced expansions to Boston and Bellevue, Wash.