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Average price slips as fewer people moving to Alberta, realtors association says
+ G! o8 d/ m6 {7 \3 x* pBill Mah, The Edmonton Journal( O9 t" y B) | [# G+ x# T
Published: 1:31 am
# p. t, H; Z B0 h5 O/ X# R8 T' u# xEDMONTON - 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.. O8 W8 q4 U4 s
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Figures 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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That'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.( C6 m3 v; t* X1 i6 N% f
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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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0 F5 J& [+ d, {: e& PNet 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.$ f6 g! c6 U& N! m
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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.3 ?0 s" T3 j( D
- g% E+ o; v& RHe 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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2 k) R# w/ Y: U% y m, a; Y: h/ p"Our sales volumes are similar to what we saw in 2004 and 2005 and our prices are essentially flat.
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2 f) u% L8 a# ]9 E- J"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."' V E1 U1 O, p% s# O* f6 u( J1 ^
! U' e! Z6 Z# A: v r* A5 d* AA single-family home sold in March for an average price of $387,632, down 2.7 per cent from March last year.
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. _( b# G0 @+ ]$ jBut the average residential price -- including single-family homes, condos, duplexes, mobile homes and others -- was $343,760, 5.66 per cent higher than March 2007.
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& _/ Q$ _5 B/ |+ L ?& xThere 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.- R: L" b: Q. @9 w
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Total 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 2008.6 T. m* a: t8 d2 w- F
9 Q! B( K' e4 \* x+ f; kThe 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.! p3 F7 P" P# W0 J
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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 $235,000, said the LePage study.: R" E& F4 {) d; W& V$ S
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Ken Shearer, a Royal LePage broker and owner, said debate over energy royalties kept house prices lower.7 H I6 A* z& N( L# ^. ]; w# ?1 \
& k+ S W) T6 Y3 c1 {7 i* ]! j"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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According to the report, prices varied by specific market in the Edmonton region. Here are some highlights:
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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." I: `' r) O! |+ u' |' [8 ?; W
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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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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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2 ]6 ~/ J/ e5 p5 k4 R4 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.)4 g- c/ o- G/ ?, Z& [5 Z
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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.
" N8 K9 |. _6 cCastle 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./ W7 ^6 w& C4 v
: {* g9 M% F j+ I- V5 yClareview: 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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