West Vancouver

Benchmark price

GVR's estimate of what a typical home in an area would sell for, from the MLS® Home Price Index (HPI). It prices the same kind of home every month, so it is not pushed around by which homes happened to sell. It is not an average of sale prices and usually sits below it. GVR publishes no average for individual areas, so area pages lead with the benchmark.

Composite benchmark

The benchmark for all home types together (detached, townhouse and apartment). It is the headline price of every area page.

Average price

Total dollars paid divided by the number of sales. GVR prints it for the whole region only, one figure per home type. The all-types average shown for Greater Vancouver is calculated here: each type's average weighted by its number of sales, so that markets can be compared on the same figure.

Price index (HPI)

The benchmark expressed as an index, with January 2005 = 100. An index of 310 means typical prices are 3.1 times what they were then. GVR re-estimates the index from time to time, so the changes shown are the ones GVR prints.

Detached

A house that shares no wall with another home.

Townhouse / Attached

GVR counts sales as 'attached' (townhouses, row homes, duplexes) and publishes a townhouse benchmark for the same segment. Both are shown on one card.

Apartment

A condominium unit in a low-rise or high-rise building.

Sales by area

GVR counts sales and listings for 17 areas, fewer than the 20 it prices. Burnaby East, North and South show Burnaby's sales; Ladner and Tsawwassen show South Delta's; Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows share theirs. Each page says so where it applies.

Sales to active listings

Sales in the month divided by homes for sale at month end. GVR's rule of thumb: under 12% for a sustained period puts downward pressure on prices, over 20% pushes them up.