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Thu, April 12, 2007
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( P/ w( c5 C2 _9 t: J1 `Calgary ranks sixth as most expensive downtown housing
) e. U( P: G8 H! @3 S9 iUPDATED: 2007-04-12 16:38:42 MST
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) }. H2 u6 ]7 P8 q$ P( n: P$ _More and more Calgarians are buying downtown homes but paying top price for the prime location. ( r8 n' I, q& E
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People who live in downtown business districts in Canada’s largest cities generally pay less per-square foot than people in cities around the world and enjoy shorter daily commutes to work, according to a recent survey done on first-time home buyers by CENTURY 21.
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Calgary ranks sixth most expensive of 31 cities surveyed around the world.
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- e( P, a4 }3 y6 t# w/ ?( t% R+ j: YThe cost to buy in Calgary’s downtown is even more than settling in Toronto’s core which ranked 16th in the survey with the average cost running $209 per sq. ft.
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, c( J9 f$ v4 q/ ^3 {George Bamber, owner of a Calgary-based Century 21 said it’s a sign of a city maturing and becoming more like Vancouver or Toronto where downtown is a place where people live and work.“You just get more real estate for your money outside of downtown,” he said.
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* X4 |: H2 @4 }% M K- w. n“To live downtown people pay for it.” 0 r3 Z* @# l) |3 f+ u; K2 Q
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A condo in southwood for instance would run about $323 a sq. ft while downtown goes for about $500.
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9 g7 r; d8 ]! Q7 b! Y; g8 pStill Bamber said the interest in downtown living only seems to be getting more popular — a sign Calgary is “getting to be more like a big city.” $ j# {# Y3 s3 P% l* `* n& p/ B
q8 p" T& M' r+ Z! k6 i1 _( oPart of the attraction is affordability but also people wanting to buy in to a certain lifestyle, Bamber said.
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! d, g, N5 o! F3 W0 ]“People want to be close to restaurants and bars and don’t want to drive an hour to work,” he said.
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6 M0 u4 t& T5 @He said 30 % of the housing market is condos - the bulk of which are in downtown. w: t% ~8 s# \! ~% ^8 n7 K! h/ L
- @- h* e5 t5 |5 X- V) w; SThe survey showed Vancouver placing fourth most expensive at $577 per sq. ft. while Edmonton was 10th most expensive at $322. , j/ R4 l* F& Z4 N% C
2 l& e' H/ w# TIn Calgary, a typical first-time buyer would choose a one-bedroom, one-bath 500-sq. ft. apartment in Mission or Connaught priced at about $250,000 and a 10-minute drive or 20-minute walk to the downtown business core and the Calgary Tower. 0 q C* X/ D! I7 \! J+ M1 b2 [5 \
2 g a; |/ B- }- Q7 hWhile those looking for life in the suburbs and a better bang for their buck typically see a significant cost savings. 0 W1 o3 s! v7 V1 C- D
2 ~4 C8 Q- D# V9 e# y1 j6 cA 650 sq. ft condo in Southwood, Bamber said, recently sold for about $323 per square foot, for instance. / V6 ]- @' f* ~- ]0 ^6 W$ H
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5 ?) I# g% L* h* P' q! I- St. John’s and Quebec City had the lowest and second-lowest per-square-foot downtown prices of all 31 cities surveyed, at $55 and $93 respectively.— The two lowest per-square-foot prices for international cities were Istanbul, Turkey and Sydney, Australia, at $94 and $105 respectively.
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1 _+ G. k. r+ Q9 B i& | `— Vancouver was fourth most expensive at $577 per square foot while Calgary was sixth most expensive at $500 and Edmonton was 10th most expensive at $322 — Globally Paris was the most expensive at $1,051 per square foot while London was fifth most expensive at $532 and New York was eighth most expensive at $375 The 10 least expensive downtown housing markets as ranked per-square-foot for first-time buyers are; St. John’s $55 Quebec City $93 Istanbul $94 Halifax $97 Charlottetown $104 Sydney, Australia $105 Bogota $114 Mexico City $119 0 G2 x! d( a: R6 H8 j" J
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The 10 most expensive downtown housing markets; Paris $1051 Moscow $688 Seol $630 Vancouver $577 London, England $532 Calgary $500 Athens $375 New York City $375 Tokyo, $325 Edmonton $322. |
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