The buyer’s market trend continues, according to figures released by the Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB®).

In a news release issued yesterday by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA®), president Calvin Lindberg said, “We must remember that all markets go through cycles and remember that the national housing market is actually made up of different communities. Real estate markets are local and every community and every area is different in terms of trends and pricing.”

CREB® president Ed Jensen concurred with Lindberg, saying, “We can see these cyclical affects in our own local Calgary market. Some communities in our city are stabilizing, while others are in the midst of a market shift.”

Single family Calgary metro new listings added for the month of September totaled 2,631, a decrease of 15.3% from September 2007, when new listing added totaled 3,106 and an increase of 15.9% from last month, when new listings coming to the market were 2,270.

Calgary metro condominium new listings added in September 2008 were 1,186, showing a decrease of 9.8% from the 1,315 new condominium listings added in September 2007 and a decrease of 12.5% from last month’s condominium listings of 1,054.

Single family Calgary metro sales for the month of September came in at 1,152, showing an increase of 8.3% from the 1,064 sales in September 2007 and showing a decrease of 1.5% from last month’s sales of 1,170.

Condominium sales for the month of September were 465, a decrease of 3.7% from the 483 condominium sales recorded in September 2007 and showing a decrease of 6.1% from August 2008 when 495 condominiums changed hands.

“The number of single family homes selling in the $200,000 to $250,000 price range has increased this month by 50% over last year. And while single family homes selling within the $350,000 to $450,000 price range have remained almost the same as they were in September 2007, another significant change is the price range of 450,000 to 550,000, seeing a 19% decrease in the number of units sold,” explained Jensen. “In short, more homes are selling in the lower price ranges, indicating that the favourable price range has shifted to one lower than that of 2007. Clearly, it’s still a buyer’s market and the opportunity for first time homebuyers to get into the market is better than it’s ever been,” Jensen concluded.

The median price of a single family Calgary metro home in September 2008 was $395,000, showing a decrease of 6.1% from September 2007, when the median price was $420,500 and down 0.8% from last month when the median price was $398,000.

All Calgary Metro MLS® statistics include properties listed and sold only within Calgary’s city limits.

The median price is the price that is midway between the least expensive and most expensive home sold in an area during a given period of time. During that time, half the buyers bought homes that cost more than the median price and half bought homes for less than the median price.

The average price of a single family Calgary metro home in September 2008 was $444,048, showing a decrease of 5.7% from September 2007, when the average price was $470,888.

The average price of a Calgary metro condominium was $287,426, showing a 10.6% decrease from September 2007 when the average price was $321,614.

Average price information can be useful in establishing trends over time, but does not indicate actual prices in centres comprised of widely divergent neighbourhoods or account for price differentials between geographical areas.

–The Calgary Real Estate Board is a professional body of 5,692 licensed brokers and registered associates, representing 262 Member offices. The Board does not generate statistics or analysis of any individual member or company’s market share. All MLS® active listings for Calgary and area may be found on the Board’s website at www.creb.com.