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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.9 S; d, h6 k% P& ]& Q- `* f
6 D3 K' B" d. H% Z* F“That’s a 180-degree twist from what we saw in the month of November,” said outgoing association president Marc Perras.9 C1 _8 n2 }# [
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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 $30,000 less than the average price of a single family dwelling at the start of 2008.
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! t5 m% E: O9 [" P, D4 eCondominium prices — which fell more than eight per cent in the previous two months — edged up 1.2 per cent over November.4 T! d- }; D9 p {4 _
- T& }- t$ H$ V0 o- }# eOver the year, condo prices dropped 7.5 per cent from $253,270 to $234,286.& i$ P7 W' |, G, g
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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.
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1 K$ ~1 i" ^! a' n“Who wants to tour homes when both your toes and your portfolio are frozen?” Perras said.! o Q! H+ C+ B
; ?1 m) q" i* G2 |5 l; E- UNeither Perras, nor incoming president Charlie Ponde would release a resale market forecast for 2009 until a news conference scheduled for Thursday.8 }4 Z: Z1 z. g9 q, G$ Z4 O
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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.
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5 D' j e! ] A! L& _, T“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.
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- i5 v, V5 s$ ?7 IThe report predicts the average local house price to hold steady at $333,000 this year. The number of homes sold is expected to increase by three per cent to 17,825 units, it said.
. j7 I$ l" b$ L3 `1 ?3 u$ O/ vThe 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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6 P k+ J0 \8 `9 J2 z- M! |/ O“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.! {( {7 C6 L- S. l2 |
& t2 a" ]& S. a% aMeanwhile, 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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