Updated: Tue Oct. 28 2008 10:27:03 AM

ctvtoronto.ca

Toronto's real estate is no longer the booming market it once was but experts say buyers might soon have the upper hand.

Real estate analysts met with a crowd of agents Monday at an annual conference to discuss the challenges to Toronto homeowners and builders.

"We can expect a slowdown in 2009 and it's going to be a rocky road, but in 2010, it's gong to start to go back," Coldwell Banker President Gary Hockey said.

The result will be a more balanced market, the experts agreed.

Whereas it's been a seller's market for the last couple of years, real estate analysts predict that as the economy continues to weaken, people looking to buy a home will find more options on the market and at deflated prices.

"We're actually in a balanced market," said Phil Soper, president and CEO of Royal LePage. "We haven't quite moved into buyer's market territory yet."

Analysts in the condominium industry say they're worried what effect the slowdown will have on projects that are in the midst of being built.

Vancouver's long-awaited Ritz-Carlton hotel is one example of a stalled development. The builder says it's because he wants to make some tweaks to the design but the delays have unnerved some who have put down deposits on units. They're beginning to panic that their investment is also about to be gutted.

Brad J. Lamb, a condo real estate agent, told CTV's Canada AM that the west is an example of the dangers of an inflated market.

"The West Coast has had a hard time," he said. "Prices rose very quickly to levels that were probably unsustainable."

He said it's best to be cautious in the west, where costs are closely tied to commodity prices.

"In stable, slower growth economy like Ontario and Quebec, it's hard to imagine a fall-off in pricing like we're seeing in the west because prices didn't rise that fast and it's still moderately affordable to buy in those cities."

Lamb said people who are afraid of losing their investments shouldn't worry because of the industry standards in place to protect consumers.

If a builder decides to halt the development, the buyer has the option of having their deposits refunded with interest.

Despite the panic, Lamb said more people are choosing to live in a condominium.

"Urban living is probably the future of Canadian people," he said. "Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto have had moderate price increases. Probably the best places to buy real estate right now is in those three cities. It's probably the safest place."

The experts reminded the group that real estate, like the economy, is cyclical in nature. They predicted that by 2010, the market could balance out again.