Is there anyone who hasn’t heard about the sub-prime mortgage meltdown? And unless you only travel in the dead of night, you’ve seen a lot of for sale signs in Red Deer. Perhaps you’ve been observant enough to notice that many signs age in one spot and some disappear without a “SOLD” sign showing up. But in fact, it’s not that bad! Prices are down from mid-year--$30,000 from June to October averages. That is a lot of money--7.9% not 25%. If you bought a year ago, you have still done very well, on average about $100,000. If you bought this year, and if you can stay put for a year or two, you should be fine.

Averages are deceiving, some sales people now say, inflated by a few high prices. Instead, the median or the middle price in the list of all sales is a better indicator of trends. So here’s the scoop! October average price for single family homes was $339,461; the year before average was close--$ 333,138. The median October 2007 price was $320,000; the year before it was $295,000. Both measures show solid prices. And the funny thing; this year’s highest average price was in September at $371,241. September median prices in were $ 338,700, the second highest median price in 2007. Up--down & all around!

And still, the number of listings is increasing. In our climate, more listings as winter deepens is new and unexpected.

Thinking about buying or selling? Want more information? E-mail me, dale@reddeerproperties.com or