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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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“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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. M( T7 x6 v( P0 gThe 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 [; Q# Y2 s7 e2 s0 S
5 g/ \8 P) t3 P; O7 Q% N4 a9 ECondominium 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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Over the year, condo prices dropped 7.5 per cent from $253,270 to $234,286.
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% q% K' D8 Q I# c" A% s x- b( {, ^At the end of December, there were 6,316 homes in inventory. The sales to listing ratio was 46 per cent and average days on market was 65, up two from November.9 Y* j5 S& G0 m* X9 U
# |0 K. i8 v1 h5 t8 yResidential sales plunged by 29.1 per cent in December to 608. Perras blamed cold weather and global economic uncertainty.
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! P" D4 B/ ~: ~$ B; [“Who wants to tour homes when both your toes and your portfolio are frozen?” Perras said.
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9 o2 r4 H/ O4 a. s4 B/ W0 k) bNeither Perras, nor incoming president Charlie Ponde would release a resale market forecast for 2009 until a news conference scheduled for Thursday.. @6 W) J" P- w9 d
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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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1 H1 K# h# {0 p" TThe year will bring stable average house prices and gradually increasing sales, according to the Royal LePage 2009 Market Survey Forecast.5 c f; K/ A, }
1 T9 m; d% |2 w' d2 n! H. |“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.7 m [. H% I2 S9 o8 w" d v' d) l. l
' u! h2 ?. f& ~/ x, IThe 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.
! [8 o: Q, `( ~( \: eThe 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.* }/ b! w3 D! e: J
# Y' o. B* R* y6 F2 n: O“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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