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EDMONTON — Prices for single-family homes in the Edmonton region dropped while condo prices rallied in December, according to figures released today by the Realtors Association of Edmonton.; Z6 r) H, B! ^; Q) W
# A- T& ^; ^8 s$ l4 ^$ E“That’s a 180-degree twist from what we saw in the month of November,” said outgoing association president Marc Perras. Q5 V+ a$ A7 h) }
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The average price for a single family home dropped by three per cent to $351,870 after remaining flat for two months. That’s $30,000 less than the average price of a single family dwelling at the start of 2008. R c9 _+ r q- {
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Condominium prices — which fell more than eight per cent in the previous two months — edged up 1.2 per cent over November.
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; n9 S% u, x+ Z7 SOver the year, condo prices dropped 7.5 per cent from $253,270 to $234,286.' v6 Z' _. O5 D$ X9 B, n) K
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At the end of December, there were 6,316 homes in inventory. The sales to listing ratio was 46 per cent and average days on market was 65, up two from November.$ \" P- d" u+ s% @( b2 l
. Q" `3 F5 E$ p; M$ fResidential sales plunged by 29.1 per cent in December to 608. Perras blamed cold weather and global economic uncertainty.; N: A. U3 T+ L9 e7 l, t
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“Who wants to tour homes when both your toes and your portfolio are frozen?” Perras said.
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Neither Perras, nor incoming president Charlie Ponde would release a resale market forecast for 2009 until a news conference scheduled for Thursday.
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But one real estate company predicted Tuesday that after months of sluggish sales and slipping prices, Edmonton’s housing will return to “a normal state” in 2009.
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The year will bring stable average house prices and gradually increasing sales, according to the Royal LePage 2009 Market Survey Forecast.' H4 `/ j6 E/ A: ~. j
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“The combination of healthy employment levels, historically low interest rates and good affordability — something the city has not seen in a while — will all bolster Edmonton’s housing resale market in 2009,” said the survey. A( x! [0 P6 U' u
' |% G; `. W% m4 u ^The report predicts the average local house price to hold steady at $333,000 this year. The number of homes sold is expected to increase by three per cent to 17,825 units, it said.) P9 B3 s* Q9 A/ }! d) y$ u
The company added that a glut of homes that burdened the market shrank in 2008 and will get smaller in 2009, putting Edmonton in a balanced market.
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“Nationally, Canadian average house prices are forecast to dip by three per cent from last year to $295,000, while transactions are projected to fall to 416,000 (–3.5 per cent) unit sales in 2009,” the report said.% q0 z9 n# `' n; i+ `% k" F
+ B7 T2 {# O7 }! sMeanwhile, the Realtors Association of Edmonton will release a recap of the housing market this morning and a forecast of 2009 on Thursday. |
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