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Average price slips as fewer people moving to Alberta, realtors association says
- Q* v4 `4 R0 |; Y' n* q; ~) @Bill Mah, The Edmonton Journal
- x% J7 ?. g8 N% B8 C W4 UPublished: 1:31 am
- h+ g1 C+ w' U* uEDMONTON - 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.
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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./ \4 x" `* w: W. J, }- h
7 W0 L) f b3 g; SThat'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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: j5 R( j% z5 J+ W. S/ k6 aAssociation president Marc Perras said the inventory, about six month's worth, stems largely from fewer people moving to Alberta.1 i) b/ O% h& l K0 Y5 ^& z
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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.5 _4 g! B' Q* j7 Q; q
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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.: q. C1 g7 A# D( w' A
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"Our sales volumes are similar to what we saw in 2004 and 2005 and our prices are essentially flat.! D; F/ O, z0 }! q6 o$ T
- A% C" x6 Q1 x6 L4 d"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."' h0 g' M) \; X1 [) |" X! w; C
. M, r$ b* O Y: g3 O$ TA single-family home sold in March for an average price of $387,632, down 2.7 per cent from March last year.) r9 u, n4 m& K6 n' {
0 b2 F8 C, D$ {) e* Z0 }But the average residential price -- including single-family homes, condos, duplexes, mobile homes and others -- was $343,760, 5.66 per cent higher than March 2007.
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8 x& ^+ u0 G: b* ]1 q$ uThere 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.# V' d- q5 B, H1 y" l3 p
7 W1 i) n1 D( K% Z4 R6 b8 R$ T8 b9 eTotal MLS sales in March dropped 31 per cent from a record-setting pace in March 2007.$ `5 \- S4 {4 B6 L ~2 Y7 l8 D
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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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$ [2 M# ^; I1 ^# w2 a* g! h4 q. k& 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.
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% G) s1 q* p8 I s% L* i0 g/ NThe 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 $235,000, said the LePage study.
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Ken Shearer, a Royal LePage broker and owner, said debate over energy royalties kept house prices lower.
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: M7 M7 R' D5 W, n"As a result of this debate, the market has receded from the wild pace it experienced last year as buyers are simply no longer interested in paying skyrocketing house prices," he said.! K" N8 ?; X$ `% V8 o
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According to the report, prices varied by specific market in the Edmonton region. Here are some highlights:
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5 }7 t/ u2 b+ m2 B( ?; 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.
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0 a& K% f% l" C- q# ]5 LSpruce Grove: A two-storey home rose 6.9 per cent to $405,000 year-over-year.
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% f' ~7 c, e" _ A2 ^2 j6 e3 qRiverbend/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.! r, |0 [) I# B& p. _* M
7 Z0 E' Y( ~- w6 \* HLeduc: 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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/ i d I0 f/ L. N- t( @* rSt. 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+ s3 K8 \7 z' c% d' q
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., u2 H5 Z4 H& N+ W! u
; r k9 I4 `0 X; f+ G2 aClareview: 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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