New house prices in Greater Victoria drop 10%
Email
Print
Letter to Editor
Share
Updated: September 17, 2009 11:28 AM
The average price of a new house in Greater Victoria tumbled more than 10 per cent over the past year, according to Statistics Canada.
In July alone, Victoria saw the biggest slide in new housing prices in Canada, at 3.5 per cent for the month.
“The declines are a result of weak market conditions,” said Casey Edge, executive officer of the Canadian Homebuilders Association Victoria branch. “Purchasers are very pricepoint sensitive. It makes it difficult for the new-home building market.”
Edge added that house buyers have become more interested in buying existing homes, rather than new builds.
Chris Markham, president of the Victoria Real Estate Board, agrees. He said the market for lower-priced homes, new or existing, is “absolutely on fire.”
Overall in Canada, the price of new homes dropped 3.2 per cent between July 2008 and July 2009, but the national decline might be reversing the trend. In July 2009, the new housing price index increased 0.3 per cent. Prices rose during the month in Vancouver by 1.2 per cent and by 0.5 per cent in Calgary.
ecardone@vicnews.com
v2
