Posted by Sudbury Northern Life 
Greater Sudbury has joined nine other Canadian cities with slumping housing markets, according to a report by the Canadian Real Estate Association.
The city, along with Toronto, Kitchener-Waterloo, St. Catharines, Hamilton-Burlington, Edmonton, London and St. Thomas and Windsor, had residential average prices decline by less than the national average of 11.3 per cent from January 2008 but did decline an average of 4.6 per cent.
By contrast, average prices were up from a year ago in Quebec City, Regina, Saskatoon, Halifax-Dartmouth, Saguenay, Winnepeg, Thunder Bay, Montreal, Ottawa and Gatineau and Oshawa.
The report indicates while the supply of homes remains high, the trend is downward leading to expectations that stabilization of prices could occur, enough to put a floor under prices.
"There is no doubt the market is not as active as it was last year, but there are certainly buyers and sellers in the Canadian residential market," said Calvin Lindberg, president of the Canadian Real Estate Association in a relase.
"In many markets, transactions have a tendency to take longer because of negotiations between the two. Realistic pricing is the key to the sale of residential property in this market. Conditions also vary from one neighbourhood to another, so buyers and sellers should know those details," said Lindberg.
Federal budget initiatives such as the increase in the home buyers' plan and the first time home buyers' tax credit to cover closing costs are important for first time buyers, noted Lindberg.
For more information, visit http://creanews.ca
