St. John's Home Prices Remain Relatively Flat in the Third Quarter of 2015

Weakness in the energy sector keeping St. John's homebuyers on the sidelines

ST. JOHN'S, Oct. 14, 2015 /CNW/ - The Royal LePage House Price Survey^[1] released today showed home prices remained relatively flat year-over-year across all housing types surveyed in St. John's. In the third quarter of 2015, the aggregate^[2] price of a home in the region rose 1.0 per cent to $340,261.

Broken out by property type, the median price of a two-storey home rose a modest 0.8 per cent year-over-year to $382,462, while the price of a bungalow increased 1.8 per cent to $318,470. Over the same period, the price of a condominium fell 3.4 per cent year-over-year to $297,274.

According to Glenn Larkin, Realtor^®[3], Royal LePage Professionals 2000, uncertainty about the impact of weak oil prices on the Newfoundland economy has kept many homebuyers in St. John's on the sidelines, but housing prices remained steady. "The total number of listings is up 1 per cent compared to this time last year," said Larkin. "First-time buyers are the most active and keeping the real estate market busy."

Nationally, home prices showed moderate to strong year-over-year price increases in most markets in Canada.  According to the report, the price of a home in Canada increased 8.0 per cent year-over-year to $502,643 in the third quarter. The price of a two-storey home rose 9.9 percent year-over-year to $615,304, and the price of a bungalow increased 6.8 per cent to $421,757. During the same period, the price of a condominium increased 2.8 per cent to $338,684.

"Economic slowdowns in energy-dependent markets, most notably in western Canada, have in part been offset by both renewed industrial activity in other parts of the country and the Bank of Canada's recent interest rate cuts," said Phil Soper, chief executive officer, Royal LePage. "In line with recent quarters, strong national home price increases are largely being driven by continued double-digit percentage increases in the Greater Toronto Area and Greater Vancouver, where housing affordability is already becoming a growing challenge for many individuals and families."

"Home ownership remains a bright light amid unsettled investment and savings options in volatile global capital markets.  As we lead up to election day, it's not surprising that all of the major political parties are acknowledging the housing sector's prominence as the foundation on which the economy has been built for years, and a critical foundation upon which Canadians can build their savings," continued Soper.

Beginning this quarter, Royal LePage's House Price Survey includes the Royal LePage National House Price Composite comprising house values for 53 of the nation's largest real estate markets through the use of a proprietary, custom-built system that analyzes a housing database containing millions of real estate transactions. The enhancements are made possible through Royal LePage's collaboration with its sister company, Brookfield RPS, a leader in residential real estate data and analytics in Canada.

About the Royal LePage House Price Survey
The Royal LePage House Price Survey provides information on the three most common types of housing in Canada, in 53 of the nation's largest real estate markets. Housing values in the House Price Survey are based on the Royal LePage National House Price Composite, produced quarterly through the use of company data in addition to data and analytics from its sister company, Brookfield RPS, the trusted source for residential real estate intelligence and analytics in Canada.  Commentary on housing and forecast values are provided by Royal LePage residential real estate experts, based on their opinions and market knowledge.

About Royal LePage
Serving Canadians since 1913, Royal LePage is the country's leading provider of services to real estate brokerages, with a network of over 16,000 real estate professionals in more than 600 locations nationwide. Royal LePage is the only Canadian real estate company to have its own charitable foundation, the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation, dedicated to supporting women's and children's shelters and educational programs aimed at ending domestic violence. Royal LePage is a Brookfield Real Estate Services Inc. company, a TSX-listed corporation trading under the symbolTSX:BRE.

For more information visit:www.royallepage.ca.

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[1] Powered by Brookfield RPS
[2] Aggregate prices are calculated via a weighted average of the median values of homes in the regions surveyed 
[3] Realtor® is a trademark identifying real estate licensees in Canada who are members of the Canadian Real Estate Association.

SOURCE Royal LePage Real Estate Services

Ray McIlroy, Kaiser Lachance Communications, 647-680-8316, [email protected]