Neil Rowlandson

sales activity slowed in Calgary during the

month of October, but continued to present

excellent buying opportunities, according

to fi gures released by the Calgary Real

Estate Board (CREB®).

Single family Calgary metro sales for

the month of October came in at 820,

showing a decrease of 26.3 per cent

from the 1,113 sales in October 2007 and

showing a decrease of 28.8 per cent from

last month’s sales of 1,152. Condominium

sales for the month of October were 399,

a decrease of 20.4 per cent from the 501

condominium sales recorded in October

2007 and showing a decrease of 14.2

per cent from September 2008 when 465

condominiums changed hands.

“Sales have slowed during October;

partly due to normal seasonal third

quarter adjustments. Other factors may

be that consumers are feeling a sense

of uncertainty at the moment with the

volatility of the stock market and the

global economy. People are being careful,

but being too careful may mean missed

opportunities,” said CREB® President,

Ed Jensen. In a recent Calgary Herald

article, Jensen said, “We may be in for

some continued slower times for this

quarter, but I believe this is the kind of

market where real estate bargain hunters

can fi nd those great deals, but if you’re

not out there looking you can’t fi nd the

best deal. And it’s hard to negotiate the

best deal when the market has turned the

corner and everybody’s buying.”

The average price of a single family

Calgary metro home in October 2008

was $449,100, showing a decrease of

0.7 per cent from October 2007, when

the average price was $452,254, but

showing an increase of 1.1 per cent from

September’s average price of $444,048.

The average price of a Calgary metro

condominium was $289,148, showing a

12.8 per cent decrease from October 2007

when the average price was $331,617, but

again showing a slight increase of 0.6 per

cent over last month, when the average