Average Home Price Dropping?
- 15.09.2007
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Average home price slips $6,600 in August
The average price of a resale home in Canada’s major markets fell in August for the second month in a row amid slower sales, new figures show.
The average price in 24 major markets was $325,881 last month, compared with $332,442 in July and $335,180 in June.
But even with that slippage, August’s prices remained 11.2 per cent above those of August 2006.
The figures were released Friday by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) and are based on sales through the MLS system.
August’s decline was due largely to drops in Alberta, where the average price in Calgary fell $13,000 to $423,801 and Edmonton’s average slipped $8,100 to $345,809.
Saskatoon continued to be the country’s real estate hot spot. In August, the average resale home cost $253,240 “ up $8,100 from the previous month and up a stunning 56.4 per cent from a year earlier.
Sudbury’s resale market showed continued strength, as the average price rose almost $10,000 in a month to $189,631 “ up 26.7 per cent in a year.
Saskatoon, Sudbury, Windsor and St. John’s set record high average prices in August, CREA said.
Vancouver continued to be the most expensive real estate market, with the average price rising another $6,300 from July to $587,483.
Total sales in August fell 5.3 per cent to a seasonally adjusted 29,717 units on fewer sales in Toronto, Montreal, Edmonton and Vancouver.
“There were adjustments to mortgage rates in July that may have had an impact on the resale housing market in August,” CREA chief economist Gregory Klump said in a release.
“But the housing market continued at near-record levels because the Canadian economy is strong,” he said.
Real estate officials said the Canadian housing market stands in sharp contrast to the weak market in the U.S., where defaults on subprime mortgages have reached new highs and prices in many markets have tumbled.
In Canada, prices in all major markets are up over a year ago.
“Canada’s housing market continues to show resiliency to the subprime controversy in the United States,” said CREA president Ann Bosley.
“This is a housing market built on good foundations, including good lending practices,” she said.
