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Thu, April 12, 2007: X) U4 c( J( \/ H
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Calgary ranks sixth as most expensive downtown housing l* b! T4 D% ^+ }
UPDATED: 2007-04-12 16:38:42 MST
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By NADIA MOHARIB, SUN MEDIA4 \( D" g& E/ L! s
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& p) k/ o8 |: q8 z* i1 Y4 q) H# NMore and more Calgarians are buying downtown homes but paying top price for the prime location. 6 G- G% J; q; `' m# \
- c5 a! s- y2 C1 g3 o; a* p- P+ \1 R4 FPeople 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. $ f9 J& m1 _) C1 F
/ D' d/ ]8 ?) N2 ]/ R# s4 [& rCalgary ranks sixth most expensive of 31 cities surveyed around the world. / k, l; z4 O) c* `
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The 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 $209 per sq. ft. 2 {+ [2 J) z$ @0 B
( k U. d$ J$ ]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. * q, E, F; o. H S, z1 d2 D
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“To live downtown people pay for it.” . Y, s1 G$ j( @+ g E4 V) d+ M+ T
+ @7 Z4 m1 v. v1 ], C5 K5 K3 x& e/ MA condo in southwood for instance would run about $323 a sq. ft while downtown goes for about $500.
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Still 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.”
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Part of the attraction is affordability but also people wanting to buy in to a certain lifestyle, Bamber said. ( R% q- f* {7 B% }( W
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“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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He said 30 % of the housing market is condos - the bulk of which are in downtown. 1 s+ |% ]. {, @( W. J/ l f
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The survey showed Vancouver placing fourth most expensive at $577 per sq. ft. while Edmonton was 10th most expensive at $322.
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7 _% w* X7 g" P% x* ?6 vIn 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. 9 h8 n# }- _7 S
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While those looking for life in the suburbs and a better bang for their buck typically see a significant cost savings. ' n3 [: ?- ]3 ]* S5 [3 q
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A 650 sq. ft condo in Southwood, Bamber said, recently sold for about $323 per square foot, for instance. ( g+ n4 b; N! _& l0 M; p* y
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FAST FAX 6 n+ {9 G8 B, a* ?6 y% H
& J, S* R$ v/ e: q3 y! N- 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 $105 respectively. 5 z" N9 z" C* g
! V5 l2 k7 D$ Y/ w" X% w— 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 & S! P+ K" V" q1 i! {
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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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