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Thu, April 12, 2007
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Calgary ranks sixth as most expensive downtown housing W' G" S2 A+ X0 f
UPDATED: 2007-04-12 16:38:42 MST
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By NADIA MOHARIB, SUN MEDIA
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1 Y' b6 a! F3 q$ _9 L" R+ bMore and more Calgarians are buying downtown homes but paying top price for the prime location.
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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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4 Q) \6 F$ ?" _" M W( kCalgary ranks sixth most expensive of 31 cities surveyed around the world. ) Y/ ^3 A0 }4 e x- z/ e
+ R" a9 z% [! T& O+ 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 $209 per sq. ft. 9 r/ ?, b2 K0 W" Y
( F( P _: F7 T( K( a) ^George Bamber, owner of a Calgary-based Century 21 said it’s a sign of a city maturing and becoming more like Vancouver or Toronto where downtown is a place where people live and work.“You just get more real estate for your money outside of downtown,” he said. . E' `7 Y: y# J2 O' y! ^
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“To live downtown people pay for it.” " x9 R( O, h' U' s" Q$ R) D
- G% q( i! V1 }7 UA condo in southwood for instance would run about $323 a sq. ft while downtown goes for about $500. ( X) O' T) t* A1 B$ L5 Z, \
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9 d4 m9 c4 @( B/ L: ^- eStill 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.
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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. + d- |0 Q+ ~, k+ ^+ c
4 L: [. W9 f0 s; n3 Y& mHe said 30 % of the housing market is condos - the bulk of which are in downtown. * |) E0 l) f. C3 V/ W0 r- h8 l, b
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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.
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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. * F2 J. u9 z# T, k- |* t+ _2 J( Q
# V6 D6 m9 Z( s, L' |1 b! g2 g/ Y# FA 650 sq. ft condo in Southwood, Bamber said, recently sold for about $323 per square foot, for instance.
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$ C# w# \5 k; \& u K: y- 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. / O V; y" R8 |" {
2 _5 V* p0 L; g— 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 ! [7 G- k: y! 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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