Double-digit declines for Edmonton home prices

qbxl400

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.

$ z- }! U$ @9 f: }# a) H" n7 x6 @6 s1 ?The 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.

% \" j' U- _- ^7 \0 ~) wTwo-storey houses dropped 13.8 per cent year-over-year to $342,857 in the Edmonton market.

7 T  Y# G# c* o% C+ M
# l- E7 b4 H- V& B3 HEmail to a friend

* ~5 H2 h8 C0 N% K- xPrinter friendly
2 W$ }: V' y2 z1 {$ e' G4 _  E! pFont:****A standard condominium tumbled 18.8 per cent from last year to $216,667.
: Y, ]0 d8 i- D, C- y; @. G
3 ^/ m2 `7 b+ Q# \Across Canada, the survey found, on average, standard condos rose by 0.2 per cent to $243,529.
5 f0 W5 K& e1 W
* @& R8 V! o6 }  t$ XStandard two-storeys increased by 0.1 per cent to $408,927 while the average price of detached bungalows remained stable at $240,000.
7 g6 _, D' @- V
7 h4 ~5 A9 A7 X% V9 ]  d# kPhil 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.

"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.
7 S' L7 |: e2 r1 @+ J
The report said despite dropping year-over-year prices in Alberta, the resource-rich economy is strong and unemployment is low.

5 y' Y/ H/ K6 [6 `3 s"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.

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.

% }- f# s3 C. C- v4 N' Ybmah@thejournal.canwest.com