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Average price slips as fewer people moving to Alberta, realtors association says6 t r$ U; u3 x4 y4 ^2 A' d
Bill Mah, The Edmonton Journal
3 c/ K% a' j0 D" y% aPublished: 1:31 am
% t4 p8 U4 L' n3 z, ^7 ?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.8 `/ i6 a+ V9 n A; T/ k3 l+ }
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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.
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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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0 H. [' F4 x6 a0 ?8 CAssociation president Marc Perras said the inventory, about six month's worth, stems largely from fewer people moving to Alberta.
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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.
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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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"Our sales volumes are similar to what we saw in 2004 and 2005 and our prices are essentially flat.
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1 t$ S4 w$ z5 R"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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A single-family home sold in March for an average price of $387,632, down 2.7 per cent from March last year.) b" W& l% P+ x r7 D( _ r
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But the average residential price -- including single-family homes, condos, duplexes, mobile homes and others -- was $343,760, 5.66 per cent higher than March 2007.
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$ V; C9 M/ x8 V8 \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.
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7 n5 w) A5 h7 F, \* D. e! e# yTotal MLS sales in March dropped 31 per cent from a record-setting pace in March 2007.
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/ Y Q3 d4 X. m& U8 L; n$ D+ JMeanwhile, 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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. ?6 r# M: H) n% i7 @! XThe study looked at certain local markets examined and found the average price of a "standard two-storey home" fell 3.7 per cent to $363,707.
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. ~6 M$ I) O( @, ~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 $235,000, said the LePage study.; p' P, A, Q2 \/ {6 D6 ]
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Ken Shearer, a Royal LePage broker and owner, said debate over energy royalties kept house prices lower.* G( I6 L! f# V$ X; Q
* d* t* i2 F. Q* W& j; e! D"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.9 W* Q9 @7 d0 V/ ?4 @
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According to the report, prices varied by specific market in the Edmonton region. Here are some highlights:$ B% h h; u1 |
0 T4 M h9 d' ~6 P: OSherwood 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.! ?" u4 W, o' Q: Q1 _! S
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Spruce Grove: A two-storey home rose 6.9 per cent to $405,000 year-over-year.: O) q# C K+ x V
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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 c' p/ r1 E0 y7 d7 p
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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.)1 }( o* y( E3 z" J
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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.! u- J9 }0 d* y: O' f# f9 k
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 $350,000.; b: _# u, A- y7 E
4 y! w$ f& B7 X" W, uClareview: 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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