Double-digit declines for Edmonton home prices

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EDMONTON - While average resale home prices across Canada nudged upward in the third quarter, Edmonton saw double-digit declines from last year in bungalows, two-storeys and standard condos, says a report released today by real estate firm Royal LePage.
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% [/ V0 q* P5 S5 [! p& |8 j/ R# eThe average Multiple Listing Service sale price for an Edmonton bungalow fell 11.8 per cent to $326,429 compared to the third-quarter of 2007, says the market survey.

1 U$ v8 P2 u+ LTwo-storey houses dropped 13.8 per cent year-over-year to $342,857 in the Edmonton market.
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& N. {% i$ l% p" `Font:****A standard condominium tumbled 18.8 per cent from last year to $216,667.

9 m# U9 d! P9 b6 k: n7 C9 y6 C8 SAcross Canada, the survey found, on average, standard condos rose by 0.2 per cent to $243,529.
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Standard two-storeys increased by 0.1 per cent to $408,927 while the average price of detached bungalows remained stable at $240,000.

5 s/ ]9 i9 e. N4 e) [, UPhil Soper, Royal LePage president and CEO, said Canada's housing market is fundamentally different and stronger economically than the U.S. market being shaken by the sub-prime mortgage crisis.

) w. o, g9 Z: G; Z$ r1 O* E2 K"Average house price appreciation curves are beginning to flatten, but this is a completely natural reaction to the explosive gains that characterized the market earlier this decade," Soper said in a release.

- }3 C1 T, z3 g# i% u1 bThe report said despite dropping year-over-year prices in Alberta, the resource-rich economy is strong and unemployment is low.

- j2 B6 ?! d$ a& `* O5 {"As such, the recent price decline is merely a correction to the dramatic run-up in prices that both Edmonton and Calgary experienced in the past few years," the report said.
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The survey said the year-over-year drop in the Calgary market varied from a decline of 8.7 per cent for a standard two-storey home, 8.2 per cent for a standard condominium and 6.2 per cent for a detached bungalow.

bmah@thejournal.canwest.com