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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.( J9 u% O. Y; F& t3 ?1 u
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“That’s a 180-degree twist from what we saw in the month of November,” said outgoing association president Marc Perras.; z6 w0 y1 s3 q8 a& d8 ` F+ X' v
$ k( }" K" U9 V- Q8 w, X8 NThe average price for a single family home dropped by three per cent to $351,870 after remaining flat for two months. That’s $30,000 less than the average price of a single family dwelling at the start of 2008.
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o) ~, x$ a4 f5 f4 n' R" O% @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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% b) i1 J& \( aOver the year, condo prices dropped 7.5 per cent from $253,270 to $234,286.1 @) b2 B, r1 i6 Q1 j0 @
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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.
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Residential sales plunged by 29.1 per cent in December to 608. Perras blamed cold weather and global economic uncertainty.5 x7 f8 I, n. E
; H: c! }: a, t, S, j- D1 C8 c/ j) c! O“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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; j t8 z7 t% n7 zBut 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.
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+ w* `) ~) m5 @+ y' p6 {( l“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.9 g7 `2 ]- Z8 v2 i9 X. Q( B6 h [0 a
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The report predicts the average local house price to hold steady at $333,000 this year. The number of homes sold is expected to increase by three per cent to 17,825 units, it said.* _- ]3 |) i/ E. e( _
The company added that a glut of homes that burdened the market shrank in 2008 and will get smaller in 2009, putting Edmonton in a balanced market.2 {, q7 z$ x- ?' }) q# h
& Q* u0 C' v' ?+ p- \1 R8 `“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.+ n8 F3 @: t+ A- [/ r# i
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Meanwhile, 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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