Statistics released by the Calgary Real Estate Board indicate that overall sales figures remained steady for April 2004, with this month being the second best April on record. And while April sales and listings didn't quite match the record month set in March 2004, the numbers tell a story of stability and balance.

Residential listings new to the market in April 2004 numbered 4,029 units, compared to 4,084 the previous month and 3,617 units recorded in April last year. Broken down, 2,986 for single family units, 990 for condo units and 53 for mobile homes, hit the market in April 2004. Year-to-date, 15,154 residential units have come to market, compared to 13,378 for the same four month period last year. Total active residential listings numbered 6,107 at the end of April; this compares to 5,605 for the same period last year.

Combined residential units sold in April 2004 totaled 2,597. In keeping with a healthy market, April 2004 exceeded the sales of January and February of this year. Breaking out the numbers, 1,911 single family residences, 669 condominiums and 17 mobile homes changed hands in April 2004 - this compares to 1,784 single-family, 599 condos and 17 mobile homes sold in April 2003. Year-to-date, 8,839 residential units have sold in Calgary and area, compared to 8,002 units for the same timeframe last year.

The residential sales to new listing ratio in April 2004 was 64.46% compared to 66.35% last year. The residential sales to active listing ratio in April 2004 was 42.52%, which compares to 42.82% last year. The residential list price to sale price ratio in April 2004 was 97.7%.

The average combined residential sale price in April 2004 reached $220,245; which compared to $221,725 in March 2004 and $209,941 last year. Year-to-date, the average sale price for combined residential units sits at $220,389; compared to $207,353 last year. Broken down, the following is a comparison of year-to-date single-family, condominium and mobile home average sale prices for April 2004 and 2003:

Single Family 2004 $241,592 2003 $226,874

Condominium 2004 $163,178 2003 $155,051

Mobile Home 2004 $49,303 2003 $52,650

Average price information can be useful in establishing trends over time, but does not indicate actual prices in centres comprised of widely divergent neighbourhoods, or account for price differentials between geographical areas. The median price is determined by selecting the middle number of total sale prices; the residential median price for April 2004 was $203,000; up slightly from the $202,000 recorded in March 2004 and up from the $191,000 recorded for April of last year.

One indicator used in evaluating market performance is how many days a property takes to sell. Keeping in mind that the sale of each MLS(R) property is unique and that in order for properties to sell in a timely manner they must be priced competitively, the following gives the AVERAGE days on market (DOM) for single-family and condominium units for the month of April:

2004 2003

NW Single-family 36/Condo 41 NW Single-family 34/Condo 38 (2003 figures adjusted from previous CDOM)

NE Single-family 42/Condo 52 NE Single-family 38/Condo 46 (2003 figures adjusted from previous CDOM)

SW Single-family 36/Condo 45 SW Single-family 36/Condo 39 (2003 figures adjusted from previous CDOM)

SE Single-family 35/Condo 45 SE Single-family 33/Condo 40 (2003 figures adjusted from previous CDOM)

Forty-eight pending sales that should have been reported in April were outstanding as of April 30th and will be included in the May 2004 statistics.

-The Calgary Real Estate Board is a professional body of 4,426 licensed brokers and registered agents, representing 244 member offices. The Board does not generate statistics or analysis of any individual member or company's market share. All MLS(R) active listings for Calgary and area may be found on the Calgary Real Estate Board's website at www.creb.com. For more information on this news release please contact: Don Dickson, President, at 272-0033 or Ron Esch, Executive Vice-President at 263-0530.