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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.
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2 [7 P5 t* a( P3 P- S) H, w! k+ C“That’s a 180-degree twist from what we saw in the month of November,” said outgoing association president Marc Perras.
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. _7 v" `0 q+ x, A* v& ]8 UThe 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.
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Condominium 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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3 W" G6 E' z. ~3 E6 D% F8 FOver the year, condo prices dropped 7.5 per cent from $253,270 to $234,286.9 \5 o# {# g/ I$ y5 h
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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./ y. J0 i" A, B+ w, C5 Q( f9 `
5 W1 n4 \6 n/ ]( g( h: QResidential sales plunged by 29.1 per cent in December to 608. Perras blamed cold weather and global economic uncertainty.: n% C" l# S3 {/ ?1 Y1 j0 q
9 X; X5 }) u0 B; Q“Who wants to tour homes when both your toes and your portfolio are frozen?” Perras said.. r! Q1 R0 f6 @3 ~8 v, p6 L
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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.# m$ I! g! q: ?: }8 J
6 N7 C* i7 b: \) k; V% e, hBut 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 2009.2 y& _+ N5 f3 d. @, u9 w$ \
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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.- k+ p( Z5 V5 g! B
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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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" X8 t5 p6 V2 {1 b1 D" xThe report predicts the average local house price to hold steady at $333,000 this year. The number of homes sold is expected to increase by three per cent to 17,825 units, it said.* U+ ~" f4 {, v. n0 s4 X* F
The company added that a glut of homes that burdened the market shrank in 2008 and will get smaller in 2009, putting Edmonton in a balanced market.! R6 m4 s8 F6 n1 ^# S* T
7 b6 G$ Z, M% H“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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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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