Record low interest rates. Dropping house prices. Buyer incentives. It is officially a buyers' market--but how do consumers take advantage of this opportunity? Today, the Herald starts a six-week series called Your New Home. Turn to pages I7 to I10 for more buyer profiles and tips on how you can get the most from this market. And look for more information in the New Homes section each Saturday through May 9.

It's the all-Canadian dream: A little house in the suburbs with a sparkling white picket fence, a dog, and some happy children playing in their own yard.

For many Calgarians in the recent past, that dream was elusive as house prices increased and builders struggled to keep up with demand.

Construction starts of single-family homes reached a record 10,482 in 2006, says Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.

But now the tide has changed in favour of buyers. There were just 4,387 starts last year --and this year appears to be following that downward trend.

In February, 184 single-family homes started construction, down from 288 during the same month last year.

That's a decline of 36 per cent--and house prices have followed suit.

During the peak of the high prices in September 2008, the average price of new single-family homes in Calgary (not its surrounding areas) was $647,030. As of this February, the price declined to $619,211 --and it will likely be followed by further decreases, says Lai Sing Louie, senior market analyst for the Calgary branch of CMHC. "In January, builders reported in the federal New House

Price Index that it cost six-and-a-half per cent less to build a new home in January, compared to January 2008."

Indications are that those cost savings are being passed on to customers, he says.

"The house component of the build then was down 10.9 per cent, while lot prices had increased 2.2 per cent," says Louie.