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Average price slips as fewer people moving to Alberta, realtors association says
! Q; B( {( z2 m( `% p EBill Mah, The Edmonton Journal
* ?0 P) S b0 V% q/ G; }8 d! oPublished: 1:31 am
! J6 s4 p7 D8 d0 H$ }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." Q# ~/ z/ d! Z1 `3 k0 ]9 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.2 C K8 v6 ^; E2 x7 Z. Q
# T- _* Q% d2 O! RThat'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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. u* {/ J. b5 o" C# O* CAssociation president Marc Perras said the inventory, about six month's worth, stems largely from fewer people moving to Alberta.( X. [' O& J" l8 |. i
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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.
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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.+ |7 Q7 g& D9 D
& \, v; i# d4 o0 ^: _% |He predicted home prices will increase by the year's end as inventory drops and called the current situation a "stable, normal" market. v7 \! c+ j0 n- N& \+ u+ a4 Z
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"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."
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2 F# F" E* [1 e" c5 D* H( mA single-family home sold in March for an average price of $387,632, down 2.7 per cent from March last year.! Q7 K0 @ m3 M1 o* S
& y7 }1 t# l; D7 E" F3 IBut the average residential price -- including single-family homes, condos, duplexes, mobile homes and others -- was $343,760, 5.66 per cent higher than March 2007.# C, `' u* W, y5 F# ?' X3 m; a
) ?# b. o& E0 ~% {: O8 RThere were 1,557 residential properties sold in March with new listings of 4,236 for a sales-to-listing ratio of 37 per cent. Homes spent 51 days on the market, down one day from last month.. d4 q) u; o3 {; q+ x5 M
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Total MLS sales in March dropped 31 per cent from a record-setting pace in March 2007., n- X" o! d/ e- x
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Meanwhile, a house price survey released Thursday by Royal LePage Real Estate Services says Edmonton-area houses became more affordable in the first three months of 2008.( O" l$ Z$ S+ P- i+ Q4 a
. |5 { C6 U5 X7 IThe 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.* E8 |4 [5 a' t) `9 l( b
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The 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 $235,000, said the LePage study.$ z/ |! k: t* E2 _$ D
+ C D$ O6 ]6 vKen Shearer, a Royal LePage broker and owner, said debate over energy royalties kept house prices lower.
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" I0 P3 S5 D \; n4 X" P"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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5 g3 M; @/ N% D7 j3 MAccording to the report, prices varied by specific market in the Edmonton region. Here are some highlights:: r% |2 [" o+ i2 f( g8 l2 M! q
+ s5 [0 v$ q. K) i0 _Sherwood Park: Average prices for two-storey homes dropped by 7.1 per cent to $390,000, while detached bungalows and condos were unchanged from last year.; L/ [1 X$ Z& r5 {. G
. `8 Y0 _: _8 nSpruce 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 $235,000.
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0 ~; y) D3 }" [5 O$ ?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.)
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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.2 Z2 I; w6 [) a( C4 q% y
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 $350,000., W$ w: q2 ^; \$ Z/ [
, o# ~2 F, ]0 W6 OClareview: 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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