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Declining housing demand will send prices lower in the remainder of 2015 as sales continue their slide, the Calgary Real Estate Board said in its mid-year forecast Wednesday.

The board predicted the residential benchmark price will be $448,354 by the end of December — a 0.2 per cent decline from 2014. In January, it said prices would rise 1.6 per cent this year. The benchmark price represents what CREB considers a typical property sold in the market.

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Its updated forecast predicts 19,798 MLS sales — a 22 per cent plunge from 2014 and six per cent below the five-year average. In its earlier forecast, CREB expected sales would decline by only four per cent.

CREB president Corinne Lyall said it’s no surprise the impacts of lower oil prices have affected consumer confidence, particularly earlier in the year.

“We’ve actually seen a little less concern from consumers lately and the main reason for that is we haven’t seen the worst-case scenario being played out in the energy sector or in the housing market at this point. And perhaps we’re also realizing that this market could be our new normal for some time