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Average price slips as fewer people moving to Alberta, realtors association says2 i9 a2 c$ J( K: {1 f% ^$ r& z0 E
Bill Mah, The Edmonton Journal s: X% s) g# E; T
Published: 1:31 am( T W5 c" ]- Z8 p! ?
EDMONTON - 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.# l4 D& D6 w8 V: e- g1 o" n9 _
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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. u" I( k2 V! k( r7 J
' S1 L7 p P9 e2 m! lThat'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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6 ^' q" |# l& ^; W6 b* a7 [Association president Marc Perras said the inventory, about six month's worth, stems largely from fewer people moving to Alberta.* H. k' O* H" S. t2 ?* ]
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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.+ @" S8 B1 A( o8 m4 J1 J
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"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.& u; M# I5 X# Y% u
L$ D1 G/ b, E/ W# {# p0 hHe predicted home prices will increase by the year's end as inventory drops and called the current situation a "stable, normal" market.1 ?. F* ^8 ?4 b
4 O1 l# { j& k% ?"Our sales volumes are similar to what we saw in 2004 and 2005 and our prices are essentially flat.6 x4 e; ^: w: c
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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."6 `6 ?& [2 y4 P- c- w
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A single-family home sold in March for an average price of $387,632, down 2.7 per cent from March last year.
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/ i; |* l$ k3 l- V* w& rBut 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.) G( r* q8 P3 Q
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There 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.9 k3 g' f0 D5 m5 P9 H4 }' m1 \) s
* b7 Y; M% |+ K# V, e* D! bTotal MLS sales in March dropped 31 per cent from a record-setting pace in March 2007.# w, X8 q6 o! x. j% @
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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 2008.3 X5 ?8 M$ T A* N
7 W* P7 C# x0 b- Q. [" i" mThe 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." N3 Q4 K2 v) s. r/ c
5 Y" |1 k! c0 h3 A7 }% SThe 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 $235,000, said the LePage study.0 n' r7 J9 O, z9 L) }1 i/ _ W: G$ q
: {$ A/ L2 F5 R# F$ c7 K" ^Ken Shearer, a Royal LePage broker and owner, said debate over energy royalties kept house prices lower.
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& V' E$ a' H; q4 G4 M( @# n* q# Q"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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According to the report, prices varied by specific market in the Edmonton region. Here are some highlights:4 q+ f5 }# ~/ }/ g3 ^) |
% e0 Y$ ^) i+ K, ~4 j( j8 ~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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6 W1 m, R9 [5 c' W, _2 t9 ^- c# eSpruce Grove: A two-storey home rose 6.9 per cent to $405,000 year-over-year.
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Riverbend/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 $235,000.0 Y& b/ K% K) D# ~
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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.)6 I1 Q* c! o3 _
0 a+ ]( C+ f2 ~' BSt. Albert: The average price of a two-storey home fell by 12.8 per cent to $340,000 while detached bungalows dropped by 12.3 per cent and condos by 13.3 per cent.
. ]' \$ i3 z1 h$ m, [% D' OCastle 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.& @: c( s! K* a d/ F1 B/ A
1 ?* q3 ~" i# G! r5 q# m: dClareview: 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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