 鲜花( 7)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
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." _+ ^0 A$ L3 z6 L5 U6 D) ~ W
2 H6 \8 S2 j3 i3 z8 b5 e“That’s a 180-degree twist from what we saw in the month of November,” said outgoing association president Marc Perras., |" {7 |) V" U N6 _: E5 T
6 L. L4 h5 n$ d p
The average price for a single family home dropped by three per cent to $351,870 after remaining flat for two months. That’s $30,000 less than the average price of a single family dwelling at the start of 2008.
7 H" X$ q; |$ P( [
) n; G: d% V4 i2 ]Condominium prices — which fell more than eight per cent in the previous two months — edged up 1.2 per cent over November.; `' i$ J' A- Q0 Y' v9 r& T
* j" Q) M9 y) u2 |# oOver the year, condo prices dropped 7.5 per cent from $253,270 to $234,286.
: b$ \! o( d. K: X8 h# P/ Z9 d3 j4 ^- m5 e
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.1 E- l$ o! L7 |" R z
1 a3 V- P$ m' u. n. [
Residential sales plunged by 29.1 per cent in December to 608. Perras blamed cold weather and global economic uncertainty.
8 X& D% S' O w% I7 f4 I! P1 q0 a9 A# X$ E/ k; J
“Who wants to tour homes when both your toes and your portfolio are frozen?” Perras said.
7 e& U1 p0 F1 G: j0 r3 W8 j
7 R: F$ ?% X! |0 g' ONeither Perras, nor incoming president Charlie Ponde would release a resale market forecast for 2009 until a news conference scheduled for Thursday.
5 T4 e8 k. q2 f+ u( f4 s& @; u. q c& _6 f0 d" _- v. x
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.: ^ y U$ j9 `; s' O
/ t' G6 p0 Q k4 _: t6 YThe year will bring stable average house prices and gradually increasing sales, according to the Royal LePage 2009 Market Survey Forecast.* c( W4 ]& Y6 U# i
) h1 X% c: K6 Y- b% o3 p“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.
" k: Y! Q. Q2 X8 Z& Z
$ c; J* `4 [8 y5 lThe 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.
$ X. |6 M. M. NThe 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.
% c7 c& d' I/ b9 w% T9 w9 R8 }4 ?1 P
“Nationally, Canadian average house prices are forecast to dip by three per cent from last year to $295,000, while transactions are projected to fall to 416,000 (–3.5 per cent) unit sales in 2009,” the report said.
) }/ h2 k8 r& n+ r9 O& G) V4 J
- Y' U1 e$ y5 S2 S) NMeanwhile, the Realtors Association of Edmonton will release a recap of the housing market this morning and a forecast of 2009 on Thursday. |
|