The price of a home in Calgary took a bit of a dip year over year but it wasn’t as sharp a decline as many had feared, says Royal LePage.

According to the company’s House Price Survey, released on Thursday morning, the aggregate price of a home in Calgary is $457,044, down 1.6 percent from the year before.

The report also said that the average price of a two-story home is down 1.1 percent to $502,213 and bungalows down 1.4 percent to $458,933.

Royal LePage also found that condominium prices are down the most, dropping 5.5 percent to $287,986.

Corrine Lyall, broker/owner with Royal LePage Benchmark in Calgary, says that no one is surprised to see a drop in prices because of the current situation. “We’re getting pressure from people that are obviously in positions where they’re becoming unemployed. Some people are in a position where they can’t purchase a property at this point in time. We’ve got more supply than we do demand.”

She says that Calgary’s price drop would have been even steeper if it wasn’t for people still buying homes under the $500,000 mark.

“There’s only so much product in that price range. New homes can’t be built unless they’re attached at that price point. We’re looking at about 60 percent of buyers buying in that range.”

Those sales are keeping averages in Calgary “buoyant”.

“In addition, first-time homebuyers are keeping our market active. Low interest rates and increasing confidence in the energy sector are creating more options that extend beyond condos,” says Corinne Lyall, broker/owner, Royal LePage Benchmark in a release.

She adds that Calgary’s mixed-use communities are creating a very inviting environment for millennials looking to raise a family.

But Lyall says the overall growth of real estate in the city depends on the oil and gas industry. “There are a number of people who are really working to diversify our economy, which is great, but that’s a long term solution. We’re really at the will of the oil and gas economy and if things continue the way they are, it’s going to continue to have an effect on our housing market.”

As for Canada as a whole, the real estate market continued to grow, up 12 percent to $545,414.

Phil Soper, president and CEO of Royal LePage, says that the country’s real estate market is enjoying modest to strong price appreciation in all regions, even the hard-hit oil patch.

As for the new mortgage rules brought in by the federal government, Soper says that homebuyers were shaken at first, but are adjusting quickly.

“Fears of a hard correction were unwarranted. While the changes are significant, major lenders may already be using similar criteria when writing mortgages in sensitive regions like Alberta and B.C., so the additional drag on the market resulting from the new legislation won't be as great as it appears on the surface.”

House prices in Edmonton dropped further than in Calgary. The average price of a home in that city is down 3.1 percent to $374,712.

Two-storey home prices, bungalows and condominiums also dropped in the Edmonton region to $430,232 (-3.1 percent), $359,843 (-3.5 percent) and $237,128 (-2.2 percent) respectively.