Alberta communities tell own real estate stories

Calgary, Edmonton markets experience "price correction"

The provincewide boom in housing prices gripping Alberta for the last several years has been replaced this spring with price variations tied to local economies. They now range from increases of 23 per cent to declines of 15 per cent, according to a national survey by Century 21 Canada brokers.

The report says prices of homes in Alberta commubities this spring are determined by the strength of the local econmy and the supply of new housing built during the boom.

"The metro areas around Calgary and Edmonton are experiencing some price corrections," said Don Lawby, president of Century 21. In Calgary and nearby communities High River and Airdrie, for example, prices in 12 neighbourhoods surveyed varied from increases of nine per cent to decreases of 13 per cent.

"It's a reflection of what actually happened over about a two-and-a half-year period where prices just sort of skyrocketed. And all of a sudden the reality has to come back and we had lots od builders out building all of that," said Lawby. "So we have good supply, which has brought prices down a bit _ probably back to more of a stable environment."

The Century 21 Canada 2008 Spring National House Price Survey reflects the price of a typical home in 197 neighboorhoods in 66 communities across Canada. The real estate firm defines a typical home as the type that occurs most frequently in any given neighboorhood or community. The homes selected for inclusion in the survey were by the company's brokers in those communities.

Across Canada, the survey found price increases in 167 neighbourhoods, flat prices in nine neighbourhoods and price declines in 21 neighbourhoods.

The Calgary Real Estate Board's monthly MLS sales data for March had the average sales data for March had the average sale price for a single-family home in Calgary metro at $475,513. It was a slight drop from the $479.914 figure registered in March 2007. In the condominium market, the average sale price in Calgary metro was $312.620 in March, up slightly from $312.280 in March 2007.

" You continue to have a great economy. Ther's lots of employment opportunity," said Lawby of real estate situation in Alberta. "If you have that, that's what causes a stable real estate market. Eventually the oversupply of development will get picked up".

written by Mario Toneguzzi (Calgary Herald)