KITCHENER, ON (January 7, 2009) - The Kitchener-Waterloo Real Estate market continued to migrate to a balanced market position at the end of the year. In December of 2008, there were 176 residential units sold within the cities of Kitchener-Waterloo, which was a 23.1 percent decline in sales from the previous December. However, this was balanced against 307 new residential listings being processed which was an increase in new listings of 20.4 percent. Very importantly, the average residential sale price continued to remain solid at year end at $303,683 for single family detached properties within the cities of Kitchener-Waterloo, which is a 7.4 percent increase from December 2007 and a 5.0 percent increase from November 2008.

"We are finally coming out of the strong seller's market that we have experienced for the last several years," reports Karen Shartun, president of the Kitchener-Waterloo Real Estate Board. "While the number of sales decreased from 2007, we have to remember that 2007 was an exceptional year with the most sales ever recorded. Using 2007 as a baseline for sales can really skew what is happening out in the marketplace. We have also experienced confusion with consumers trying to apply nationally quoted average prices to our local market - the decrease in selling prices being reported in some areas simply isn't happening here and consumers who are out there buying are expecting that non-existent decrease"

There were a total of 6,719 properties of all types and in all areas sold from the KWREB Multiple Listing Service (MLS®) in 2008, which was a 10.8 percent decrease from 2007, but on par with the 6,695 units sold in 2006. In fact, in terms of overall sales, 2007 ended up being the third highest year on record due to very strong sales up until the end of the third quarter. These sales resulted in a total dollar volume for 2008 of $1,876,696,298 - down only 5.3 percent from 2007.

"What consumers need to be aware of is that while the number of sales may decrease somewhat in 2009, we expect to see the average selling price to either remain constant or continue to rise on a par with what we have seen in 2008. This reflects the unique strengths of our local economy. For buyers, 2009 will bring more inventory onto the market which will result in greater selection than we have had in the recent past but it is very unlikely that there will be any downward adjustment in the average price of these properties . "