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.
, [% z9 x7 a3 L1 I& E
! R6 p- A" N' N9 t( v) zThe 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.
, P( H. C7 {  [) Y
Two-storey houses dropped 13.8 per cent year-over-year to $342,857 in the Edmonton market.


# @0 s5 M4 p2 [- c; S- v6 S6 LEmail to a friend

; J) ?* W. Y; g# G! g/ a5 PPrinter friendly
7 N; L. S+ H, n0 d- \Font:****A standard condominium tumbled 18.8 per cent from last year to $216,667.

Across Canada, the survey found, on average, standard condos rose by 0.2 per cent to $243,529.
. P; S* g3 I! P( v
- Q( p8 x0 e. s/ A( s  j& r6 M, nStandard two-storeys increased by 0.1 per cent to $408,927 while the average price of detached bungalows remained stable at $240,000.

Phil 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.
; H* Q/ L# ?; z, o, F
; L+ O: Q1 e' u  FThe report said despite dropping year-over-year prices in Alberta, the resource-rich economy is strong and unemployment is low.
- ^& o; G; e* B0 T: ]& I- o% l' O
"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.

7 E( Z$ s; n+ h3 o2 c$ Sbmah@thejournal.canwest.com