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EDMONTON — Prices for single-family homes in the Edmonton region dropped while condo prices rallied in December, according to figures released today by the Realtors Association of Edmonton.- J% \ Z% g8 m5 L r7 i; |
7 n. c) b- @! j“That’s a 180-degree twist from what we saw in the month of November,” said outgoing association president Marc Perras." b1 S* ~% I$ ?& ]# y: O$ X
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The average price for a single family home dropped by three per cent to $351,870 after remaining flat for two months. That’s $30,000 less than the average price of a single family dwelling at the start of 2008.8 {: G" c. u& Q
) n3 }. Q: H8 I2 ICondominium prices — which fell more than eight per cent in the previous two months — edged up 1.2 per cent over November.
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9 j( V) T& Y6 R: r" pOver the year, condo prices dropped 7.5 per cent from $253,270 to $234,286./ ^1 X, e+ H% ~6 B
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At the end of December, there were 6,316 homes in inventory. The sales to listing ratio was 46 per cent and average days on market was 65, up two from November.& |6 B/ Q6 N4 f7 H) d4 U
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Residential sales plunged by 29.1 per cent in December to 608. Perras blamed cold weather and global economic uncertainty.3 a6 j+ } A6 n5 l# E" N* j1 P
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“Who wants to tour homes when both your toes and your portfolio are frozen?” Perras said.
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Neither Perras, nor incoming president Charlie Ponde would release a resale market forecast for 2009 until a news conference scheduled for Thursday.
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But one real estate company predicted Tuesday that after months of sluggish sales and slipping prices, Edmonton’s housing will return to “a normal state” in 2009.
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The year will bring stable average house prices and gradually increasing sales, according to the Royal LePage 2009 Market Survey Forecast.8 e: N' |1 J' N$ P% T* ^3 _" z
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“The combination of healthy employment levels, historically low interest rates and good affordability — something the city has not seen in a while — will all bolster Edmonton’s housing resale market in 2009,” said the survey.
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w! [$ E& n/ x qThe report predicts the average local house price to hold steady at $333,000 this year. The number of homes sold is expected to increase by three per cent to 17,825 units, it said.
' Z1 D' z- e$ V" Z! iThe company added that a glut of homes that burdened the market shrank in 2008 and will get smaller in 2009, putting Edmonton in a balanced market.; C9 L! H0 l9 R0 a' Y1 ?4 w1 M5 c
; A) n2 r( ]) y; T9 M8 }“Nationally, Canadian average house prices are forecast to dip by three per cent from last year to $295,000, while transactions are projected to fall to 416,000 (–3.5 per cent) unit sales in 2009,” the report said.
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/ F. {) P0 V9 ?1 J; i$ Y2 H2 `Meanwhile, the Realtors Association of Edmonton will release a recap of the housing market this morning and a forecast of 2009 on Thursday. |
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