Yellowknife (May 31/06) - Housing prices in Yellowknife continue to rise from last year.

The average residence in Yellowknife will currently fetch about $275,000 according to statistics from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMCH).

Jeff Groenewegen, a relator with Greenway Reality, sits in front of a for sale sign at his office. The price of homes in Yellowknife has increased by 7.9 per cent in 2006. - David Ryan/NNSL photo

Last year that same home would have only sold for $254,850.

Nationally housing prices went up 11.5 per cent according to CMCH, said Richard Goatcher, senior market analyst with CMHC.

Compared to double-digit percentage increases between 2002 through 2004 in Yellowknife, the "housing market is a little more levelled off this year," he said.

"It should start to slow."

Ken Pearman, a real estate broker with Coldwell Banker and past president of the Yellowknife Real Estate Board, agreed the market has slowed slightly.

"Housing price increases are not as dramatic as in the past years," he said.

The recent hike in interest rates likely won't stop buyers in the market for homes, said Jeff Groenewegen, an agent with Greenway Realty.

"The cost of housing is still going up in Yellowknife, but that's not stopping buyers," he said.

As interest rates rise, people in Yellowknife who may have held off making a purchase may even consider buying now, rather than waiting for rates to get even higher, he said.

"It's still a good time to buy," he said.

The number of residential homes expected to be sold in Yellowknife this year is 425.

That number is up by 1.4 per cent compared to 2005 when the number of residential sales in the city was 419.