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Thu, April 12, 20076 e# j2 H2 R, ~' k7 Z
! A0 I% N! H* ~) UCalgary ranks sixth as most expensive downtown housing
# U) n2 @) W% u8 X1 p8 i5 n+ TUPDATED: 2007-04-12 16:38:42 MST
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# C$ b2 _% f h6 {& i6 e$ C$ ?* \More and more Calgarians are buying downtown homes but paying top price for the prime location.
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) k+ Z4 T, m6 l, j c: ~. v. E0 R5 @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. " D- u2 i: X" D% q+ v( }
4 i \" X0 {. e4 I ^Calgary ranks sixth most expensive of 31 cities surveyed around the world.
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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. ; ^( w+ A5 r9 n/ S2 D3 B
( S/ E. ?2 V0 Z* e: aGeorge 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. 8 Y2 x1 Y, L5 K. t! p5 H3 c
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“To live downtown people pay for it.” # l& r2 I- G. S/ `
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A condo in southwood for instance would run about $323 a sq. ft while downtown goes for about $500.
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+ H) x1 d" z# u! f. o4 x/ |6 @9 @Still Bamber said the interest in downtown living only seems to be getting more popular — a sign Calgary is “getting to be more like a big city.”
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7 s' S3 a1 W7 R+ q6 E! P& Q* G3 dPart of the attraction is affordability but also people wanting to buy in to a certain lifestyle, Bamber said. * C, e/ o8 d! e# n. ~3 X: P& m+ S
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“People want to be close to restaurants and bars and don’t want to drive an hour to work,” he said.
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' S$ Y9 K4 Q% ~ J. y: z) D6 D% S% cHe 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.
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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. ( K/ Q3 @1 }5 X
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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.
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A 650 sq. ft condo in Southwood, Bamber said, recently sold for about $323 per square foot, for instance.
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. c f$ R2 }& q5 f) n" T4 o1 |) C1 p- 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 k; o6 O3 D' w! ~; e A
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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
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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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