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Average price slips as fewer people moving to Alberta, realtors association says
, o8 S7 w% D t& M3 c& sBill Mah, The Edmonton Journal
( K' r9 |. @* i1 [Published: 1:31 am
; H# S+ ?( r) l i& g8 xEDMONTON - The buyer still reigns in Edmonton's housing market, where the number of homes for sale has skyrocketed by 268 per cent from a year ago.) {& _3 j, r. r* ]# ^; y
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Figures released Thursday by the Realtors Association of Edmonton show there were 9,464 residential properties available in the city area -- up by a whopping 1,220 homes from February.5 Y, }* S0 r" b
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That's the third-largest inventory in Edmonton history. Only last September and October were there more homes for sale at month's end, 9,918 and 9,577 respectively.
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Association president Marc Perras said the inventory, about six month's worth, stems largely from fewer people moving to Alberta.- G: I* P3 t5 i6 Z% g w/ S6 h
5 f2 B; y# Z C2 ^Net migration to Alberta last year was 27,048. That's down significantly from 74,523 who moved here in 2006, according to Statistics Canada data.8 W S+ Z) T( B Q: ^: x
7 y1 ?0 t' G$ |) u8 K% \"We had an industry that ramped up, expecting that those numbers would keep up and now, as a result of that drop-off, we've seen inventory numbers come up fairly significantly," Perras said.
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He predicted home prices will increase by the year's end as inventory drops and called the current situation a "stable, normal" market.
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4 k2 a g+ K+ b% l0 X" @"Our sales volumes are similar to what we saw in 2004 and 2005 and our prices are essentially flat.
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"We saw quite a roller-coaster ride last year when prices jumped up significantly in the first six months and fell off significantly in the last six months."1 d* f S7 U! [, ]5 D
, m" q1 |: U( t, Y% K2 gA single-family home sold in March for an average price of $387,632, down 2.7 per cent from March last year.& k# R3 q! m* J$ _) Z& r9 H
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But the average residential price -- including single-family homes, condos, duplexes, mobile homes and others -- was $343,760, 5.66 per cent higher than March 2007.
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0 z* t! e/ A( HThere were 1,557 residential properties sold in March with new listings of 4,236 for a sales-to-listing ratio of 37 per cent. Homes spent 51 days on the market, down one day from last month. \2 n5 ~' _: y3 B' N
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Total MLS sales in March dropped 31 per cent from a record-setting pace in March 2007. N" {- _5 T5 f* Q9 M
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Meanwhile, a house price survey released Thursday by Royal LePage Real Estate Services says Edmonton-area houses became more affordable in the first three months of 2008.
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The study looked at certain local markets examined and found the average price of a "standard two-storey home" fell 3.7 per cent to $363,707.
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. N2 i9 ?* L. V7 n* [" A+ d5 eThe price of detached bungalows fell 4.9 per cent to $330,000 from the same time last year. Standard condo prices also fell 7.7 per cent year-over-year to $235,000, said the LePage study.
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# m1 a+ ?$ b* s. _, {2 uKen Shearer, a Royal LePage broker and owner, said debate over energy royalties kept house prices lower.7 }& ]# o7 D! P
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"As a result of this debate, the market has receded from the wild pace it experienced last year as buyers are simply no longer interested in paying skyrocketing house prices," he said.
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9 I, C5 [6 ?. S4 C: f+ gAccording to the report, prices varied by specific market in the Edmonton region. Here are some highlights:
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# N2 N) _1 L6 j! I+ t: ~Sherwood Park: Average prices for two-storey homes dropped by 7.1 per cent to $390,000, while detached bungalows and condos were unchanged from last year.
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/ r: H3 z: A0 s/ _' M; x" B$ NSpruce Grove: A two-storey home rose 6.9 per cent to $405,000 year-over-year." F% ?1 Y" ]' |, B1 G/ g6 `8 y$ H h1 M
+ @; I X! c& pRiverbend/Terwilligar: A two-storey property rose by 12.7 per cent to $410,950 over the same time last year. The average price of a detached bungalow rose by 2.6 per cent to $390,000, while condo prices dropped by 10.6 per cent to $235,000.; Q& I0 k3 H2 G1 [; V
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Leduc: Average condo prices rose by 9.1 per cent to $240,000 year-over-year. Two-storey house prices dropped by 7.5 per cent ($310,000.)& v ?0 C8 j8 y" \
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St. Albert: The average price of a two-storey home fell by 12.8 per cent to $340,000 while detached bungalows dropped by 12.3 per cent and condos by 13.3 per cent.$ v' @0 p6 w+ `' i
Castle Downs: Average detached bungalows fell by 18.6 per cent to $285,000. Average two-storey homes went down 11.4 per cent to $350,000./ L1 F6 ?1 \ U. V
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Clareview: Detached bungalows decreased by 8.8 per cent to $310,000, year-over-year. Condo prices fell by 16 per cent to $210,000 from the same time last year. |
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