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http://www.edmontonjournal.com/H ... /1248520/story.html
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EDMONTON — Edmonton’s resale housing market sales kicked off the new year by stumbling out the gate — with residential MLS sales down 40.5 per cent compared to January 2008." ~9 k$ d( l/ a4 m3 M' p
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Every indicator fared worse than it did in January of last year, showed Multiple Listing Service figures released Tuesday.
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% a- \ U& n' X" q) N5 w& `- Total MLS sales plunged 40.9 per cent.* v# O- c( `" U
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- Value of total sales for the month was $265 million — down 42.4 per cent.
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! V0 O% n: w3 b- The single-family home average selling price fell 7.1 per cent to $352,689.4 l! H- I4 I: X; b% v0 ^
( f1 J+ A$ E& T; @- The average condo selling price dropped 7.5 per cent to $238,535.& G7 A% Y! u. ]' Y, x3 L5 R
1 L: L1 v+ x. C- In the single-family market, there were 502 houses sold, down from 767 in January 2008.6 o/ ]: S* `* A' C" A% Z
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- For condos, only 189 sold in January compared to 363 a year ago.
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For all that, Charlie Ponde, president of the Realtors Association of Edmonton, sounded optimistic, if cautious.% N, k4 w: M* U
- ?3 {2 o' c3 hHe looked on the bright side, the month-by-month comparison — January figures were modestly better than December’s gloomy statistics.4 N, O0 w9 {* P) x; n3 J ?/ p% j
9 x3 u5 h+ a; w( e( G1 b' PMultiple Listing Service figures released Tuesday showed 730 residential properties sold in the Edmonton region in January, up from 608 in December.+ R+ K- M1 Q. Z% b- e4 \
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Sales prices were also up in all categories as compared to the previous month. The average price of a single-family home in January was $352,689 — up a quarter of a per cent compared to December. Condo prices nudged up 1.8 per cent to $238,535 and duplex/rowhouses rose 2.2 per cent to $299,222./ P( c4 g' G. h# G2 {9 v! W
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“Nobody rings a bell when prices hit the bottom,” he said. “The bottom is evident only after several months of rising prices. One month does not make a trend but the market is certainly welcoming to home buyers.”" U0 @/ b9 X; Q; ?& Y* V/ _! I
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He pointed to interest rates which have fallen to their lowest in years, a large selection of homes and recently introduced federal tax credits for home renovation and a change in the amount of RRSP savings that can be applied to a first-home purchase — now $25,000 up from $20,000. |
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