Lynn Wakabayashi

BURLINGTON, ONTARIO (June 15, 2011)

The Canadian study was part of the expansive Coldwell Banker HLR which rated more than 2300 North American communities. Vancouver ranked as the third most expensive market in North America, behind California‟s Newport Beach ($2.5 million USD) and Pacific Palisades ($1.6 million USD). Windsor, located across the border from Detroit, has been impacted by auto industry woes, and is now promoting its great value housing to the retirement market.

The Coldwell Banker Home Listing Report compiles extensive information on real estate data from around the United States and Canada for home buyers and sellers. The Coldwell Banker HLR provides the average home listing price of four-bedroom, two-bathroom properties on coldwellbanker.com that were listed between September 2010 and March 2011.

"This year‟s home listing report is by far the most in-depth local market source of data that Coldwell Banker has ever released," said Jim Gillespie, chief executive officer, Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. "We‟ve included nearly ten times more markets than ever before, which gives us unmatched real estate insight into thousands of North American cities. We know that home buying remains a deeply personal lifestyle decision, and we believe that reports like this, along with trusted real estate agents, will help today‟s buyers make smart decisions."

The HLR shows that location remains a critical factor in homes prices across the nation. While the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) reports the national average for all types of homes to cost $372,544, the Coldwell Banker HLR showed that 41 Canadian markets were below that price for this type of aspirational home.

"The Canadian market continues to experience record or near-record housing prices in major markets across the country, with Western Canada posting some of the nation‟s highest prices," said Gillespie. "But the HLR indicates that homeownership is still within reach for many. Those living around Ontario‟s Golden Horseshoe are benefiting from some of the nation‟s most affordable prices."

Gillespie pointed out that the six of the eight most affordable Canadian markets in the HLR are situated in that region, including Windsor, Welland ($196,321), Fort Erie ($215,236), St. Catharines ($220,883) London ($223,882) and Brantford ($226,700).

Vancouver is joined on Canada‟s most expensive list by Kelowna ($1.1 million), Burnaby ($797,455), Fort McMurray ($652,382) and West Kelowna ($640,055).

Ontario reflected one of the largest disparities in average home listing prices for the subject home with a $480,454 difference between Windsor and the province‟s most expensive market, Oakville ($624,914), located west of Toronto.

"This year we studied nearly three times the amount of markets than ever," said Gillespie. "The report and its companion online tool represent a unique resource for home buyers and sellers looking to compare prices for 4-bedroom, 2-bath homes in markets all across Canada and the U.S. It‟s a new level of service on a truly international scale."

Markets included in the Canadian report were required to have a minimum of five properties fitting the above criteria within the relevant timeframe.