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.
# I3 o/ F( G' ?  W0 t
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.

) i# [  z/ o; ~" i5 vTwo-storey houses dropped 13.8 per cent year-over-year to $342,857 in the Edmonton market.
/ N, O9 {2 w9 a% A; r) J
! P: L5 K2 [4 z: P
& x! a# K1 _6 U: Q  sEmail to a friend

' O+ n3 S, n7 l$ P" R3 TPrinter friendly
Font:****A standard condominium tumbled 18.8 per cent from last year to $216,667.
% S# |- y1 o0 ^, r$ k
Across Canada, the survey found, on average, standard condos rose by 0.2 per cent to $243,529.
3 O. J2 L* x1 r2 w, O
; E$ D& S, o% ?5 b  MStandard two-storeys increased by 0.1 per cent to $408,927 while the average price of detached bungalows remained stable at $240,000.

1 j% N4 I/ C( v6 ^" n* D) S1 MPhil 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.

3 Z7 r# z  y: b"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.

1 n8 v/ u% b' k8 }The report said despite dropping year-over-year prices in Alberta, the resource-rich economy is strong and unemployment is low.
* M! O) q& t3 g; L, ~' g! r
"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.
( k! M' z& C/ O$ v7 W; m; E8 @4 J7 E- J
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.
- y0 V: z8 ]* U4 M* I' f
bmah@thejournal.canwest.com