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.

5 w0 D0 b0 l; \  b: n* R. OThe 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.

Two-storey houses dropped 13.8 per cent year-over-year to $342,857 in the Edmonton market.

" N, k; D+ n9 N" u3 \
Email to a friend

Printer friendly
+ T6 X* R/ {5 }+ h  M* \- X+ L) LFont:****A standard condominium tumbled 18.8 per cent from last year to $216,667.

2 @. _+ d0 u! w: NAcross Canada, the survey found, on average, standard condos rose by 0.2 per cent to $243,529.

) u, S6 R  }2 q2 t; gStandard two-storeys increased by 0.1 per cent to $408,927 while the average price of detached bungalows remained stable at $240,000.

' N# a3 ]8 ^, m! z2 {# d" qPhil 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.
/ @: q5 _  p/ P& \8 ^1 o; \
The report said despite dropping year-over-year prices in Alberta, the resource-rich economy is strong and unemployment is low.
2 b6 j+ J( \( }, P  `: E
"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.
$ Z+ D! e* k5 V% r: x- _: q7 R, _
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.
* I- V$ O: h8 M, q( Y3 f
bmah@thejournal.canwest.com