London home prices on road to recovery

    
    - Royal LePage House Price Survey Shows Lower-Priced Homes Stable While
    High-End Home Values Are Beginning To Increase -
    

LONDON , ON, Oct. 8 /CNW/ - The Royal LePage House Price Survey released today showed that average house prices in London bounced back in the third quarter from lows posted earlier in the year. First-time buyers taking advantage of improved affordability have helped drive the market for lower-priced homes, while higher-end home values have seen the biggest quarterly increases.

The average price of a standard bungalow was down 1.1 per cent year-over-year to $225,000 , but still posted an improvement over the second quarter average price of $217,200 . Meanwhile, standard condominiums increased 0.7 per cent year-over-year, to $128,800 .

After seeing real estate activity grind to a halt during the worst of the recession in late 2008 and early 2009, the market for high-end London homes picked up in the third quarter, posting significant gains compared to Q2.

"There are still some mixed feelings in the marketplace due to the economy," said Peter Hoffman , Broker/Owner, Royal LePage Triland Realty. "But low interest rates combined with pent-up demand from previous quarters is driving the market, particularly for high-end homes."

The strengthening of the upper end of the housing market is consistent with the national trend, according to the Royal LePage House Price Survey. Overall Canada's housing market is on the road to recovery, but despite the strength of the market in the third quarter, giving the appearance of a surge in real estate activity, Royal LePage cautioned that sales are following a normal cyclical trendbut one that is lagging approximately one month behind the typical pattern in year to date analysis.

"The economic recession interrupted the flow of the real estate cycle but it is essentially back on track," said Phil Soper , president and chief executive officer, Royal LePage Real Estate Services. "There is the illusion of a boom in the market, but in fact what we are experiencing is the end of a normal, short-term correction. Once housing supply returns to normal levels, we believe the economy will support low pricing growth into 2010."

About the Royal LePage House Price Survey

The Royal LePage House Price Survey is the largest, most comprehensive study of its kind in Canada , with information on seven types of housing in over 250 neighbourhoods from coast to coast. This release references an abbreviated version of the survey, which highlights house price trends for the three most common types of housing in Canada in 80 communities across the country. A complete database of past and present surveys is available on the Royal LePage Web site at www.royallepage.ca. Current figures will be updated following the complete tabulation of the data for the third quarter. A printable version of the third quarter 2009 survey will be available online on November 6th, 2009 .

Housing values in the Royal LePage Survey are Royal LePage opinions of fair market value in each location, based on local data and market knowledge provided by Royal LePage residential real estate experts. Historical data is available for some areas back to the early 1970s.

About Royal LePage

Royal LePage is Canada's leading provider of franchise services to residential real estate brokerages, with a network of nearly 14,000 real estate professionals in over 600 locations across Canada . Royal LePage believes in the importance of giving back to the community and is the only Canadian real estate company to have its own charitable foundation. The Shelter Foundation is dedicated exclusively to funding women's shelters and violence prevention and education programs. Royal LePage is managed by Brookfield Real Estate Services, and is part of a brand family that includes Royal LePage, Johnston and Daniel, and La Capitale Real Estate Network. An affiliated company, Brookfield Real Estate Services Fund, is a TSX listed income trust, trading under the symbol "BRE.UN."

For more information visit www.royallepage.ca.

For further information: Michael Gotzamanis, Fleishman-Hillard Canada, [phone]; Tammy Gilmer, Director, Public Relations and National Communications, Royal LePage Real Estate Services, [phone]