CALGARY - The average residential MLS sale price in Alberta is forecast to fall by 8.8 per cent this year and another 1.1 per cent in 2010, according to a report released today by the Canadian Real Estate Association.

The association said the average price in the province will dip to $321,900 in 2009 from the $352,857 it recorded in 2008. The average price is also forecast to fall to $318,300 next year.

CREA, in its forecast, said total MLS residential sales will decline by 24.7 per cent this year to 42,450 units compared with 56,399 sales in 2008. But the association said sales will rebound by 13.3 per cent in 2010 to 48,100.

Nationally, the association of realtors is forecasting the average sale price to dip by 5.2 per cent this year to $287,700 from $303,594 in 2008, but it sees the average price increasing by 1.7 per cent in 2010 to $292,600.

As for sales across the country, CREA is forecasting a 14.7 per cent drop this year to 370,500 units compared with 434,477 in 2008 and it is predicting a 7.2 per cent jump in 2010 to 397,000 sales.

“Monthly resale housing activity improved as the first quarter progressed, entering the second quarter on a rising trend and closing in on levels last seen before it fell sharply late last year,” said Gregory Klump, CREA’s chief economist.

“It will take time for housing inventories to be drawn down enough to put new home construction on a stronger footing, but the balance between resale housing supply and demand is improving in a number of major markets. The national average price has begun to rebound from the recent low reached in January and is forecast to begin rising modestly above year-ago levels in the fourth quarter of 2009.”