Harvey, I've been lurking this thread and the other real estate thread you were paying in since summer of last year. I've found it to be extremely helpful in that all of the info from various sources is compiled into once nice thread. Thanks for your efforts!
The reason I've been interested is that we had a Port Moody townhouse and managed to sell August 9th, just before things seemed to start slowing down. I spent 3 years gutting and renovating the entire place from top to bottom. We were extremely lucky in our timing and as a result made a significant profit, with the intent to use a large portion as a down payment on a new detached home.
However, I'm extremely gun-shy due to the market. Any thoughts on when it might be safe to look at entering the market? If a continued drop in prices is forecasted, would this end before the typical Spring buying "rush" that seems to happen every year? I'd like to get out of the rental unit as soon as possible, but watching my hard earned down payment evaporate is not appealing! Any advice is appreciated!