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Average price slips as fewer people moving to Alberta, realtors association says
" L* F2 N$ O0 K! p. tBill Mah, The Edmonton Journal
$ h1 z, \% K' u6 }Published: 1:31 am
8 Y, x) h) B' V& ^6 O1 |6 u5 |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.8 A O9 s. ^, d9 J0 l
- `0 q, n0 m) eFigures 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.
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: f+ Y2 }: S. r# l% h7 RThat'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.9 @7 k9 c" v2 m2 B' Q
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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.
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"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.* ?( ~9 r4 I# o( h% M6 {# s+ j
2 g% ~& o" `8 P/ xHe predicted home prices will increase by the year's end as inventory drops and called the current situation a "stable, normal" market.
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; b$ e) w* l8 G/ o"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."; ^4 M* m" N) ^3 H) G1 b
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A single-family home sold in March for an average price of $387,632, down 2.7 per cent from March last year.% e# x3 l5 C) |9 \6 S
8 Q$ m; {4 P$ k- e4 C+ ^; yBut the average residential price -- including single-family homes, condos, duplexes, mobile homes and others -- was $343,760, 5.66 per cent higher than March 2007.$ E7 X3 @7 d5 Y" ^( [
# Y( D7 @1 r; a6 H# hThere 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.9 X+ k1 Z9 o3 Y9 k2 v% G, B: u, n7 A
* A) X/ c! n: L8 S; UTotal MLS sales in March dropped 31 per cent from a record-setting pace in March 2007.
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$ g6 }8 u4 p; B% d% G( pMeanwhile, 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 2008.1 r' ~! `6 T$ [: r# F* Z- Q
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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 $363,707.6 i7 G5 d3 u3 k' }
4 d! k7 p s- {) k" qThe 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 $235,000, said the LePage study.
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; Z" o9 g! e* K; `2 S! I8 U% fKen Shearer, a Royal LePage broker and owner, said debate over energy royalties kept house prices lower.
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"As a result of this debate, the market has receded from the wild pace it experienced last year as buyers are simply no longer interested in paying skyrocketing house prices," he said.2 x* z: \5 C1 f$ s' D# c
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According to the report, prices varied by specific market in the Edmonton region. Here are some highlights:
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& z9 h# f( }/ R6 s5 T5 ^+ V- c, VSherwood 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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# O8 o/ Q/ ?& X0 _8 vSpruce Grove: A two-storey home rose 6.9 per cent to $405,000 year-over-year.& }1 h* Z* | `7 Q: d, z* i% E
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Riverbend/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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. p' U9 a! X, [, j. l3 s qLeduc: 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 ($310,000.)& ~% A$ ~* b, A, ]8 v+ |
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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.
9 w9 O3 y; a9 O7 E7 ~3 m% U3 VCastle Downs: Average detached bungalows fell by 18.6 per cent to $285,000. Average two-storey homes went down 11.4 per cent to $350,000.
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) ]- K4 c$ L: _& c0 cClareview: 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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