 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Thu, April 12, 2007, U6 O: M( R) k" M6 S* l6 D
- Z/ L0 g% ]- ~3 WCalgary ranks sixth as most expensive downtown housing
3 q: A9 d8 m7 f) ^$ L2 `5 Y% [ \UPDATED: 2007-04-12 16:38:42 MST
1 K, R9 V( i3 H
9 J& O: y2 R j5 X+ {" [4 [/ ], q5 u! _$ f' P
By NADIA MOHARIB, SUN MEDIA; l( U4 M3 u8 j
5 R4 u* S+ X: l* A& c
# [0 t: l! Y: @' pMore and more Calgarians are buying downtown homes but paying top price for the prime location.
( h) Y: x- ~' d( S, z+ {8 P
$ b/ |0 `% q: i$ [% {People who live in downtown business districts in Canada’s largest cities generally pay less per-square foot than people in cities around the world and enjoy shorter daily commutes to work, according to a recent survey done on first-time home buyers by CENTURY 21.
' I4 `$ b. u1 N6 C* W# x) m. V- p& i# G# T# H$ _! `: L
Calgary ranks sixth most expensive of 31 cities surveyed around the world. 9 J( ?8 k: x: M8 e
0 }3 _1 k, o, s* i) b: K- |# D" U5 e
The cost to buy in Calgary’s downtown is even more than settling in Toronto’s core which ranked 16th in the survey with the average cost running $209 per sq. ft. . O. r% D# e; @! G$ K
0 X z8 R1 u7 o9 ~George Bamber, owner of a Calgary-based Century 21 said it’s a sign of a city maturing and becoming more like Vancouver or Toronto where downtown is a place where people live and work.“You just get more real estate for your money outside of downtown,” he said. + u) B! a9 l9 }0 w
4 g, t+ F( ?9 W. u4 U“To live downtown people pay for it.”
1 s6 |4 A. [6 d) D& K" v: t2 n" u' _0 J$ N1 D; {% Q' V
A condo in southwood for instance would run about $323 a sq. ft while downtown goes for about $500.
% }1 ^" G. i$ k" d4 A3 C6 I0 `8 S
+ G' [2 @2 U+ A$ r+ c8 Z( M8 S* ?0 E+ q8 j" ^* d `
Still Bamber said the interest in downtown living only seems to be getting more popular — a sign Calgary is “getting to be more like a big city.”
# U* d. e! H! X* z0 q3 t% O# L
: r- S- r2 g7 aPart of the attraction is affordability but also people wanting to buy in to a certain lifestyle, Bamber said. . W2 w. X0 s9 `4 e' u
8 e0 f4 p5 s$ l7 w) O
“People want to be close to restaurants and bars and don’t want to drive an hour to work,” he said. , p4 w5 [( Y {% _3 v* b9 c& t
: Z# o p1 r; f6 ]8 ]+ C! G1 SHe said 30 % of the housing market is condos - the bulk of which are in downtown. " I+ H4 A& d! e2 m; c
/ X- x7 w7 z, x' u+ }! U7 f2 _3 Y
The survey showed Vancouver placing fourth most expensive at $577 per sq. ft. while Edmonton was 10th most expensive at $322.
: i/ Q& D: u0 b: J7 @
/ v7 Z% y$ ?" ?1 o4 DIn Calgary, a typical first-time buyer would choose a one-bedroom, one-bath 500-sq. ft. apartment in Mission or Connaught priced at about $250,000 and a 10-minute drive or 20-minute walk to the downtown business core and the Calgary Tower. 5 z& M" p2 B5 g: |% Z, a3 ]
7 B. J6 g- E, r6 P* k1 |
While those looking for life in the suburbs and a better bang for their buck typically see a significant cost savings. ! Z9 d3 y _# e3 g% S8 \' f8 t
1 u8 `) E+ j3 i* V X
A 650 sq. ft condo in Southwood, Bamber said, recently sold for about $323 per square foot, for instance. & O& x) l' U. _ x
/ o& O" {+ r0 u* j
FAST FAX
% c% I$ l! V% S* V- p ^- q
d( a6 l9 N$ v0 k7 a& \! d- St. John’s and Quebec City had the lowest and second-lowest per-square-foot downtown prices of all 31 cities surveyed, at $55 and $93 respectively.— The two lowest per-square-foot prices for international cities were Istanbul, Turkey and Sydney, Australia, at $94 and $105 respectively.
: W0 {2 Z! J& K! F- r
1 r( p+ }3 W& K/ j r6 @/ \— Vancouver was fourth most expensive at $577 per square foot while Calgary was sixth most expensive at $500 and Edmonton was 10th most expensive at $322 — Globally Paris was the most expensive at $1,051 per square foot while London was fifth most expensive at $532 and New York was eighth most expensive at $375 The 10 least expensive downtown housing markets as ranked per-square-foot for first-time buyers are; St. John’s $55 Quebec City $93 Istanbul $94 Halifax $97 Charlottetown $104 Sydney, Australia $105 Bogota $114 Mexico City $119 , l! t% z R C
/ _2 c" v/ c9 w; X- C; R
The 10 most expensive downtown housing markets; Paris $1051 Moscow $688 Seol $630 Vancouver $577 London, England $532 Calgary $500 Athens $375 New York City $375 Tokyo, $325 Edmonton $322. |
|