Fredericton Housing Prices Remain Strong (as published in the Daily Gleaner on April 09/10)

The average price of detached bungalows and standard condominiums is up in Fredericton, according to a new housing study.
The Royal LePage house price survey found detached bungalows sold for an average of $182,000 in the first quarter of 2010, up nine per cent from the same period last year. Standard condominiums showed a 5.8 per cent increase, selling at an average of $145,000. Standard two-storey houses dropped in price by 2.8 per cent from 2009 to $205,000.

"While the first quarter is usually slow, we have seen an increase of about 40 per cent in unit sales," said Lincoln Thompson, broker and owner of Royal LePage Gardiner Realty. "This can be attributed to improved economic conditions in the region and the warmer weather.
"Fredericton's economy is much stronger than last year. We are a government, high-tech and university town and did not see the same economic drops as the rest of Canada."

The survey found the national average price of a detached bungalow in Canada rose 11 per cent to $329,209 in the first quarter year-over-year, while standard two-storey homes rose 10.3 per cent to $365,141 and standard condominiums increased 10.9 per cent to $228,963.

"National averages from our first quarter report are not particularly useful in painting a picture of the country's neighbourhood real estate stories," said Phil Soper, president and chief executive of Royal LePage Real Estate Services. "House sale data from the past two year period shows tremendous variances in terms of how different cities reacted to the recession."