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Thu, April 12, 2007% t, |, r! S3 h* s0 K4 a+ q
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Calgary ranks sixth as most expensive downtown housing
3 E7 k: y7 t6 B x1 RUPDATED: 2007-04-12 16:38:42 MST O" Y1 L; U. o! d/ ^! _5 _
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By NADIA MOHARIB, SUN MEDIA4 J1 X; d2 D/ B8 d- V
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, s1 K6 u' M. \. ^; w; fMore and more Calgarians are buying downtown homes but paying top price for the prime location.
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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. 6 T5 q5 M4 H. |, \
2 M2 M7 z$ J4 O, H7 XCalgary ranks sixth most expensive of 31 cities surveyed around the world. " Z4 |# u0 a6 z' v0 x v
5 J7 h9 R+ L" }& K8 c0 \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 $209 per sq. ft. & ?! D, O: M N1 }+ Z$ S N+ n8 Z( \
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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.
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; L }( X& y- j& c“To live downtown people pay for it.”
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8 @2 s2 F* j5 H' [4 T! kA condo in southwood for instance would run about $323 a sq. ft while downtown goes for about $500. 4 l) Z8 L* C" \+ `5 k: Z
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, }* q- R9 f% s/ FStill Bamber said the interest in downtown living only seems to be getting more popular — a sign Calgary is “getting to be more like a big city.” 7 h1 q) E4 E- Q
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Part of the attraction is affordability but also people wanting to buy in to a certain lifestyle, Bamber said.
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“People want to be close to restaurants and bars and don’t want to drive an hour to work,” he said.
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8 ]2 b$ H! M7 `: n6 gHe said 30 % of the housing market is condos - the bulk of which are in downtown.
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The survey showed Vancouver placing fourth most expensive at $577 per sq. ft. while Edmonton was 10th most expensive at $322. + y% Z6 Z1 G6 O2 S
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In 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. " Z4 D* T5 Z' A6 N
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While those looking for life in the suburbs and a better bang for their buck typically see a significant cost savings. , _4 |5 T. y. _2 M
5 C3 h0 F2 E; [ O6 T( {/ H" _A 650 sq. ft condo in Southwood, Bamber said, recently sold for about $323 per square foot, for instance.
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' _4 F; K; J% s$ u* L+ M. V! ^- 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.
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— 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 $119
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. M# n6 t% W; {! @/ s( l$ sThe 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. |
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