House prices fall for first time in 12 years

(NationalPost.com) - It took 12 years, but the housing boom in Toronto is finally over.

For the first since 1996, prices in the city have begun to fall. Houses are now sitting on the market longer and less of them are selling, in a trend that appears to be picking up steam.

The Toronto Real Estate Board said yesterday that the average price of a home sold in September in the City of Toronto dipped to $393,647, a 6% decline from a year earlier. Across the Greater Toronto Area the average price of a home sold last month was $368,549, a 3% drop from a year ago.

TREB president Maureen O’Neill maintained the market remains stable and the board noted prices in the city are still up 6% from 2006.

READ MORE HERE [ Source: NationalPost.com, Gary Marr and Danielle Wong, Oct. 4, 3008 ]

House prices tumble amid freefall in sales

(TheStar.com) - It’s a new reality for some vendors when realtor Duncan Fremlin appraises a property for sale in the increasingly choppy waters of today’s real estate market.

“It’s a tough conversation to have, because sellers don’t want to hear that they may not be getting what they expected,” said Fremlin.

“When you do the comparables it’s not about what you may have got last year, it’s what the houses in your area got this month.”

So far, it hasn’t been a good month.

Prices in the Greater Toronto Area market fell for the first time in more than a decade, down by 3 per cent from year-ago levels, according to figures released yesterday.

Average existing home prices dropped to $368,549 in September, from the $380,132 recorded in the same month last year, according to the Toronto Real Estate Board.

READ MORE HERE [ Source: TheStar.com, Tony Wong, Oct. 4, 2008 ]