NEWS RELEASE
For Greater Perspective on Real Estate Trends & Home Values and/or to Obtain Local Market Interviews:
For Canadian markets:
Barbara Zaprzala
Coldwell Banker Canada
905.278.4964 direct line
1-800-268-9599
barb@coldwellbanker.ca
For U.S. & International markets:
David Siroty
Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC
973.407.7199
David.Siroty@coldwellbanker.com
Attention News Directors: Gary Hockey, President of Coldwell Banker Canadian Operations is available for
media interviews to discuss the Home Price Comparison Index (HPCI) and emerging trends in Canadian
real estate. To schedule an interview, call Barbara Zaprzala 905.278-4964 or email barb@coldwellbanker.ca
ANNUAL COLDWELL BANKER® HOME PRICE COMPARISON INDEX FINDS $1.7 MILLION
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN NORTH AMERICA’S MOST EXPENSIVE AND
AFFORDABLE HOUSING MARKETS
LA JOLLA, CALIF. VS. CHARLOTTETOWN, PEI: COASTLINE LIVING DIFFERS FOR
CITIES ON PACIFIC SHORES AND IN THE MARITIMES
Annual Report of 398 Markets Includes 57 from Outside North America; Dubai Most
Expensive Overall at $2.45 million, nearly double Vancouver price of $1.25 million
Burlington, ON. (Sept. 23, 2008) – Although both are waterfront cities, something besides a continent
separates La Jolla, Calif. on the Pacific Ocean from Charlottetown, PEI on the Atlantic coast – a near
$1.7 million dollar difference in the cost of homes studied in the 2008 Coldwell Banker® Home Price
Comparison Index (HPCI). In an annual comparison of similar homes in over 340 major markets, La
Jolla topped the chart as the most expensive real estate market in North America with a $1,841,667
average price for a typical executive home. Thousands of miles away at the other end of the continent
sits Charlottetown, PEI, one of the most affordable real estate markets in North America, where a similar
executive home would cost only $157,000.
La Jolla is not alone in representing California on the top ten list. In fact, eight out of ten of North
America’s most expensive housing markets are in California. This year, all the top ten are U.S. cities, an
outcome that would seem to belie some of the recent hype about drastically falling house prices south of
the border. Here in Canada, the most expensive market surveyed was Vancouver, BC at over $1.25
million. On this year’s study, Vancouver was narrowly edged out of the top 10, ranking eleventh in the
North American markets surveyed. Situated on BC’s western shores, Vancouver continues the trend of
expensive homes on the Pacific coast, whether in Canada or the U.S.
Charlottetown, PEI was also one position away from a top ten ranking, earning the eleventh place on the
2008 Most Affordable Homes comparison. Edged out of a top ten spot by less than $10,000,
Charlottetown was the only major market surveyed in Canada that had an average price for an executive
home under the $200,000 mark.
Differing from most housing reports which compare median prices, the annual Coldwell Banker HPCI,
which first launched in the late 1980s, provides an apples-to-apple comparison of similar 2,200 square
foot, four-bedroom, two-and-a-half bath homes in 341 North American markets, in addition to a sampling
of other countries/territories outside of North America where Coldwell Banker has a presence.
“This year’s international price comparison comes at an interesting time in world economics and vastly
different housing markets,” says Gary Hockey, president of Canadian Operations, for Coldwell Banker
Real Estate LLC. “While Americans are experiencing a very challenging market right now, here in
Canada sales and home values have remained very strong. We’re seeing the market begin to moderate
this year, but prices are still at an all-time high in every province. The good news for buyers is that we’re
now seeing more inventory coming onto the market. This gives buyers more to choose from, and
strengthens their negotiating power. For those who want to get into the housing market, I believe this is
a great time to buy a home.”
“Looking deep into the study, many of the Canadian markets showed an average price for this type of
home to be within reach for middle management homebuyers,” continues Hockey. “What’s also
interesting to note is that in comparison with many other major U.S. and international markets, Canadian
real estate looks like a bargain. Smart buyers working with an experienced real estate professional can
still find attractive and affordable homes in today’s market and can take advantage of historically low
interest rates while they’re still available.”
A “Snapshot” of Executive Home Affordability
Offering a “snapshot” of affordability across North America, the Coldwell Banker HPCI evaluates
average home values for select 2,200 square foot single-family dwellings with four bedrooms, two-andone-half baths, a family room (or equivalent) and a two-car garage1.
Through the comprehensive HPCI section on www.coldwellbanker.com, prospective home buyers and
sellers can calculate what their homes may be worth in other markets surveyed and gather preliminary
intelligence about the affordability of housing from one market to another.
2008 Coldwell Banker® HPCI – Highlights and Top Market Lists

La Jolla, Calif., edges out Greenwich, Conn. ($1,787,000) and seven other West Coast markets as
the most expensive North American market in the study. Also on the East Coast, Boston, Mass.
ranks as the ninth most expensive ($1,493,750). Beverly Hills was the most expensive North
American market studied last year at $2.21 million. Note: Manhattan in New York City was not
included in the study because of the lack of comparable single-family homes.

In total, 14 North American markets exceed the $1 million average price for the surveyed home.
Joining Greenwich and Boston on that list outside of California was Wellesley, Mass ($1.2 million)
and Vancouver, B.C. At over $1.25 million, Vancouver was the only Canadian market surveyed that
exceeded the $1 million mark.

Canada mirrors the U.S. in that its costliest markets are primarily situated on the West Coast.
Vancouver, British Columbia, tops the Canadian list, with comparable four-bedroom homes
averaging $1,257,000 U.S. dollars. The most affordable market studied in Canada is Charlottetown,
Prince Edward Island ($157,000). The price difference between Vancouver and Charlottetown is a
stunning $1,100,000.

Dubai is the most expensive market studied outside of North America, where an HPCI subject home
averages $2.45 million U.S. dollars, almost double that of Vancouver. Coldwell Banker charts a
total of 15 markets outside of the U.S. averaging more than $1 million, including Bucuresti, Romania
($1.9 million) and Madrid, Spain ($1.7 million). Quito, Ecuador, ($140,100) is the most affordable
foreign market included in the survey. Nine markets altogether average less than $200,000 including
Guayaquil and Samborondo, Ecuador.
TABLE 1
The top 10 most expensive and most affordable surveyed markets³ in North America in 2008 are:
Most Expensive
2008 Avg.
Sales Price
Most Affordable
2008 Avg.
Sales Price
1
La Jolla, Calif.
$1,841,667
Sioux City, Iowa
$133,459
2
Greenwich, Conn.
$1,787,000
Jackson, Mich.
$134,325
3
Beverly Hills, Calif.
$1,777,475
Akron, Ohio
$135,780
4
Palo Alto, Calif.
$1,740,333
Canton, Ohio
$139,667
5
Santa Monica, Calif.
$1,653,333
Grayling, Mich.
$141,000
6
Santa Barbara, Calif.
$1,599,667
Minot, N.D.
$142,000
7
Newport Beach, Calif.
$1,546,250
Arlington, Texas
$143,775
8
San Francisco, Calif.
$1,513,181
Muncie, Ind.
$144,250
9
Boston, Mass.
$1,493,750
Killeen, Texas
$145,812
10
San Mateo, Calif.
$1,366,475
Eau Claire, Wis.
$147,300
11
Vancouver, BC
$1,257,000
Charlottetown, PEI
$157,000
Rank
TABLE 2
The most expensive and other more affordable markets (in U.S. dollars) within selected
provinces/territories in Canada3 are:
Province/Territory
Most
Expensive
ALBERTA
Calgary
BRITISH COLUMBIA
Vancouver
2008 Avg.
Sales Price
Other More
Affordable
Markets
Variance
$500,400
Edmonton
$482,500
$17,900
$1,257,000
Burnaby
668,000
$677,125
$273,750
$613,979
MANITOBA
Winnipeg $382,476*
NEW BRUNSWICK
Moncton $273,800 *
NEWFOUNDLAND
St. John’s $308,750*
NOVA SCOTIA
ONTARIO
PRINCE EDWARD
ISLAND
2008 Avg.
Sales Price
Halifax $269,225*
Toronto
QUEBEC
$887,729
Brantford
Charlottetown $157,000 *
Montreal $252,350 *
SASKATCHEWAN
Saskatoon $421,000 *
YUKON
* Only one market included in the study.
Whitehorse $367,500 *
TABLE 3
All surveyed Canadian markets (in U.S. dollars)3; conversions through September 3, 2008
Prov
Market
2008
Average
Sales Price
2007
Average
Sales Price
Variance
2008
Housing
Index
2007
Housing
Index
AB
Calgary
$500,400
$513,250
-3%
116
125
AB
Edmonton
$482,500
$566,750
-17%
112
138
BC
Burnaby
$668,000
$650,750
3%
155
159
BC
Vancouver
$1,257,000
$1,327,875
-6%
292
324
MB
Winnipeg
$382,476
$344,868
10%
89
84
NB
Moncton
$273,800
$255,925
7%
64
62
NF
St. John's
$308,750
$209,000
32%
72
51
NS
Halifax
$269,225
$253,500
6%
63
62
ON
Brantford
$273,750
$268,750
2%
64
66
ON
Burlington
$472,657
$440,500
7%
110
108
ON
Greater Hamilton
$359,750
$347,250
3%
84
85
ON
Kitchener
$405,585
$331,167
18%
94
81
ON
London
$356,250
$342,500
4%
83
84
ON
Mississauga
$428,333
$409,333
4%
100
100
ON
Newmarket
$380,000
$371,250
2%
88
91
ON
Oakville
$486,250
$475,500
2%
113
116
ON
Oshawa
$320,000
$321,917
-1%
74
79
ON
Ottawa
$330,828
$315,375
5%
77
77
ON
Scarborough
$481,750
$454,375
6%
112
111
ON
Toronto
$887,729
$862,674
3%
207
211
ON
Waterloo
$374,167
$347,666
7%
87
85
ON
Windsor
$278,750
$292,750
-5%
65
71
PE
Charlottetown
$157,000
$157,630
0%
37
38
PQ
Montreal
$252,350
$252,350
0%
59
62
SK
Saskatoon
$421,000
$211,666
50%
98
52
YT
Whitehorse
$367,500
$326,250
11%
86
80
TABLE 4
All surveyed international markets³ (in U.S. dollars); conversions through September 3, 2008:
Country
Market
2008 Avg. Sales
Price in U.S. $*
2008 Average Sales
Price in Local
Currency*
ARUBA
Aruba
$334,250
601,650 AWG
AUSTRALIA
Brisbane
$680,000
808,071 AUD
Sydney
$940,000
1,117,040 AUD
Perth
$635,000
754,596 AUD
BAHAMAS
Nassau
$507,000
516,031 BD
BELIZE
San Pedro
$349,000
694,454 BZD
BERMUDA
Hamilton
$1,347,500
1,347,500 BMD
CAYMAN ISLANDS
Grand Cayman
$703,000
585,833 KYD
CHINA
Beijing
$709,688
4,857,850 CNY
Hangzhou
$761,594
5,213,149 CNY
$1,169,118
8,002,671 CNY
Suzhou
$384,058
2,628,896 CNY
Pereira
$142,856
280,858,146 COP
Bogotá
$178,571
351,074,648 COP
Cartagena
$265,857
522,680,910 COP
COSTA RICA
San Jose
$142,322
79,938,651 CRC
ECUADOR
Guayaquil
$108,750
2,718,750,000 ECS
Samborondon
$110,475
2,761,875,000 ECS
Quito
$96,750
2,418,750,000 ECS
Cairo
$265,206
1,437,122 EGP
6th October
$835,260
4,526,182 EGP
Paris
$1,413,077
971,715 EUR
Bossey
$1,096,714
754,165 EUR
$822,093
565,319 EUR
$1,611,205
1,107,959 EUR
$995,832
684,792 EUR
Florence
$1,334,286
917,533 EUR
Rome
$1,642,991
1,129,817 EUR
Milan
$2,126,000
1,461,962 EUR
Shanghai
COLOMBIA
EGYPT
FRANCE
IRELAND
Cork County
Dublin
Galway County
ITALY
JAMAICA
St. Andrew
$403,000
29,761,550 JMD
JAPAN
Tokyo
$676,400
73,383,177 JPY
Osaka
$549,400
59,604,846 JPY
Fukouka
$234,000
25,386,847 JPY
LEBANON
Beirut
$495,000
761,436,992 LBP
MALTA
St. Paul’s Bay
$261,000
179,479 EUR
Sliema
$606,000
416,721 EUR
Mexico City
$274,375
2,843,266 MXN
Monterrey
$244,350
2,532,126 MXN
$1,280,311
880,417 EUR
MEXICO
NETHERLANDS
Amsterdam
NICARAGUA
Granada
$199,000
4,004,660 NIO
PANAMA
Panama City
$158,125
160,649 PAB
ROMANIA
Ploiesti
$577,582
1,409,346 RON
Brasov
$331,800
809,619 RON
$1,947,200
4,751,324 RON
Bucuresti
SPAIN
Madrid
ST. CROIX
TURKEY
TURKS & CAICOS
UNITED ARAB
EMIRATES
VIETNAM
$1,743,072
1,198,638 EUR
Christiansted
$637,333
$637,333 US
Istanbul
$750,000
894,742 TRY
Ankara
350,000
417,546 TRY
Adana
$300,000
357,897 TRY
Bursa
$250,000
298,248 TRY
Bodrum
$450,000
536,846 TRY
Gaziantep
$250,000
298,248 TRY
Providenciales
$1,289,500
$1,289,500 US
Dubai
Ho Chi Min City
Dist 1
Ho Chi Min City
Dist 7
$2,452,316
901,0226 AED
$515,633
8,696,509,735 VND
$784,256
13,227,023,753 VND
$112,558
1,898,369,078 VND
Hanoi
¹Methodology – 2008 Coldwell Banker Home Price Comparison Index:
Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC conducts its Home Price Comparison Index study by compiling survey
data from Coldwell Banker offices throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada and a sampling
of other countries where the Coldwell Banker system has a market presence. Companies within the
Coldwell Banker system submit data based on the average sales price of listings through July 2008 or a
comparative market analysis of homes previously evaluated for the 2007 HPCI. The criteria for the HPCI
subject home is: single-family dwelling, 2,200 square feet (approximately)2, four bedrooms, two and onehalf baths, family room (or equivalent) and two-car garage in neighbourhoods/postal codes within a
market that is typical for corporate middle-management transferees.
About Coldwell Banker®
Since 1906, the Coldwell Banker® organization has been a premier full-service real estate provider. In 2007, Franchise Times
magazine’s prestigious Top 200 issue ranked the Coldwell Banker system No. 1 in real estate for the eighth straight year and
12th among franchisors in all industries. The Coldwell Banker System has approximately 3,600 residential real estate offices
and 110,300 sales associates in 47 countries and territories. The Coldwell Banker System is a leader in the industry in
residential and commercial real estate, and in niche markets such as resort, new home and luxury property through its Coldwell
Banker Previews International® division. It is a pioneer in consumer services with its Coldwell Banker Concierge® Service
Program and award-winning Web site, www.coldwellbanker.com. subsidiary of Realogy Corporation, a global provider of real
estate and relocation services.
Coldwell Banker® is a registered trademark licensed to Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. Each office is independently owned
and operated.
2
2,200 square feet was the baseline figure used as size criteria for the HPCI subject homes. However, it is
possible that in certain markets the size of the subject homes varied.
3
For comparison purposes, all prices are expressed in U.S dollars. Currency exchange rates were
calculated as of September 5, 2008 on www.oanda.com ($1 U.S. = $1.06 Cdn).
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