Real estate sales volume and prices are down in the GTA for November when compared to November 2007, the Toronto Real Estate Board reports.

"That's a good way of putting it," Maureen O"Neill, the board's president, told ctvtoronto.ca on Thursday when asked if it was fair to say GTA real estate prices were sagging but not collapsing.

The average GTA price in November was $368,582, compared to $393,747 in November 2007, the board said in a report released Thursday.

However, in November 2006, overall GTA prices averaged $355,727.

The median price, the point at which 50 per cent of all sales prices are either above or below, for November 2008 was $312,250 -- compared to $325,000 in November of 2007 and $298,000 in November 2006.

O'Neill said the average price can be thrown off by an abnormally large sale, say $4 million for a single home, or by some abnormally low sales.

She also liked the year-to-date measure from January to the end of November, which is a running average. That shows an average of $379,489 compared to $375,445 for the same period in 2007. For the 416, the numbers are $411,115 this year compared to $411,640 in 2007. For the 905, it's $359,245 vs. $349,774 in 2007.

O'Neill said November 2007 was a "record-breaking year," and comes after a decade-long real estate boom.

In terms of sales, members of the board recorded 3,640 GTA sales in November, compared to 7,313 in November 2007.

So far this year, 72,086 sales have been recorded, compared to 88,695 in the same period in 2007.

Inside the 416 area code, the average selling price in November was $390,225 compared to $433,859 in November 2007 and $381,188 in 2006.

Inside the 905 region, the average price in November was $353,012, compared to $358,391 in November of 2007 and $335,522 in November 2006.

The year-to-date sales were 72,086 compared to 88,695 in 2007.

O'Neill said she preferred to characterize real estate sales as "moderating" rather than "softening."

The industry isn't that concerned about the market, and if people are looking to buy and feel secure about their economic prospects, the market is much more favourable than it was during the boom times, she said.

"To me, this is a normal time to buy. There isn't that pent-up frenzy," O'Neill said.