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Thu, April 12, 2007
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) |$ A& ?# f; t. D o# zCalgary ranks sixth as most expensive downtown housing* A, O/ {+ l f! c; V$ H/ `0 u
UPDATED: 2007-04-12 16:38:42 MST2 t" c$ J+ e! k+ J
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By NADIA MOHARIB, SUN MEDIA
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More and more Calgarians are buying downtown homes but paying top price for the prime location. 2 R# j7 m' n7 ^# A8 {$ h* @* u8 w
0 ~+ S& i3 z+ B9 N5 PPeople 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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: h E$ {$ G$ iCalgary ranks sixth most expensive of 31 cities surveyed around the world. 1 P6 Q4 v; V( d0 y3 D7 v# ^* t
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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 $209 per sq. ft. 5 M# o Q: R: b4 X; X# Y# f8 O7 M1 ?
, R% o/ ~1 O& G( r: |4 E$ ?0 ^. }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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“To live downtown people pay for it.”
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1 h, }. h& ?4 r( K3 MA condo in southwood for instance would run about $323 a sq. ft while downtown goes for about $500.
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4 z5 l5 N9 O6 K+ L# b* r& hStill Bamber said the interest in downtown living only seems to be getting more popular — a sign Calgary is “getting to be more like a big city.” : a$ \$ t% J2 F: N
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Part of the attraction is affordability but also people wanting to buy in to a certain lifestyle, Bamber said. 0 {5 j# ] x. k% W* A: q
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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.
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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. : ?5 ^; I8 N; |% y
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In 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. 7 z6 T4 s- |6 [! T0 A
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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. 1 m" X7 D& j# z3 W* R
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A 650 sq. ft condo in Southwood, Bamber said, recently sold for about $323 per square foot, for instance. ! K; y: r; S) m/ o a1 a
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- 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 $105 respectively. % q* a0 S ]" D# v# i+ B$ h
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— 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 $119 / d5 [6 ?) \7 L- l3 {. l8 m$ a( E1 J
M& D4 Z9 n- m4 g) JThe 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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