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Average price slips as fewer people moving to Alberta, realtors association says! S5 w3 [5 ~: T& s: K. p" s
Bill Mah, The Edmonton Journal* Y9 C% u5 O& T, c
Published: 1:31 am
; i8 J8 J1 s: p; p# @$ c. ?EDMONTON - The buyer still reigns in Edmonton's housing market, where the number of homes for sale has skyrocketed by 268 per cent from a year ago.$ P# t2 y' Y$ P- \4 M
3 R; G# b- H$ p' I6 d. Q, RFigures released Thursday by the Realtors Association of Edmonton show there were 9,464 residential properties available in the city area -- up by a whopping 1,220 homes from February.6 u6 ]) }, Z- H; P
' S/ _0 \7 k4 Z: lThat's the third-largest inventory in Edmonton history. Only last September and October were there more homes for sale at month's end, 9,918 and 9,577 respectively.
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Association president Marc Perras said the inventory, about six month's worth, stems largely from fewer people moving to Alberta.
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Net migration to Alberta last year was 27,048. That's down significantly from 74,523 who moved here in 2006, according to Statistics Canada data.' \/ n: F& J( Q
' f' Z5 M% a6 N( A9 ?"We had an industry that ramped up, expecting that those numbers would keep up and now, as a result of that drop-off, we've seen inventory numbers come up fairly significantly," Perras said.
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He predicted home prices will increase by the year's end as inventory drops and called the current situation a "stable, normal" market.5 y7 a& a- O- a' V
- `$ z5 `- v3 b4 P"Our sales volumes are similar to what we saw in 2004 and 2005 and our prices are essentially flat.
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"We saw quite a roller-coaster ride last year when prices jumped up significantly in the first six months and fell off significantly in the last six months."
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A single-family home sold in March for an average price of $387,632, down 2.7 per cent from March last year.
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2 r. u I/ x% d( Q' K1 ~But the average residential price -- including single-family homes, condos, duplexes, mobile homes and others -- was $343,760, 5.66 per cent higher than March 2007.) L- S! [$ S! |' @- ]$ N+ ]; P
* e2 {1 r2 p, k TThere were 1,557 residential properties sold in March with new listings of 4,236 for a sales-to-listing ratio of 37 per cent. Homes spent 51 days on the market, down one day from last month.
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! p6 O$ C$ T# X% P* OTotal MLS sales in March dropped 31 per cent from a record-setting pace in March 2007.
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Meanwhile, a house price survey released Thursday by Royal LePage Real Estate Services says Edmonton-area houses became more affordable in the first three months of 2008.
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The study looked at certain local markets examined and found the average price of a "standard two-storey home" fell 3.7 per cent to $363,707.4 X8 N" O) b! C
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The price of detached bungalows fell 4.9 per cent to $330,000 from the same time last year. Standard condo prices also fell 7.7 per cent year-over-year to $235,000, said the LePage study.
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7 Q' {2 X* w: l; e* [+ h& k# XKen Shearer, a Royal LePage broker and owner, said debate over energy royalties kept house prices lower." s* N0 F- J, F+ A+ q: g$ O1 r
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"As a result of this debate, the market has receded from the wild pace it experienced last year as buyers are simply no longer interested in paying skyrocketing house prices," he said.
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$ t [* w9 D% D: Y/ ^According to the report, prices varied by specific market in the Edmonton region. Here are some highlights:3 S) F! @; d6 B* M2 C4 W! k
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Sherwood Park: Average prices for two-storey homes dropped by 7.1 per cent to $390,000, while detached bungalows and condos were unchanged from last year.
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Spruce Grove: A two-storey home rose 6.9 per cent to $405,000 year-over-year.
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, d- B" I( O& kRiverbend/Terwilligar: A two-storey property rose by 12.7 per cent to $410,950 over the same time last year. The average price of a detached bungalow rose by 2.6 per cent to $390,000, while condo prices dropped by 10.6 per cent to $235,000.
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" L4 ?! K9 f0 s; ILeduc: Average condo prices rose by 9.1 per cent to $240,000 year-over-year. Two-storey house prices dropped by 7.5 per cent ($310,000.)3 x- D! y% b# q
* R% Q6 P& G3 _St. Albert: The average price of a two-storey home fell by 12.8 per cent to $340,000 while detached bungalows dropped by 12.3 per cent and condos by 13.3 per cent.
& T; G8 P% `7 l5 h6 NCastle Downs: Average detached bungalows fell by 18.6 per cent to $285,000. Average two-storey homes went down 11.4 per cent to $350,000.* z. u) s$ a: b( f
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Clareview: Detached bungalows decreased by 8.8 per cent to $310,000, year-over-year. Condo prices fell by 16 per cent to $210,000 from the same time last year. |
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