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Average price slips as fewer people moving to Alberta, realtors association says
6 q" L, o2 b$ p+ X7 h/ |% tBill Mah, The Edmonton Journal
( U% I3 D; e ZPublished: 1:31 am9 V6 d8 t5 j" z2 B3 C3 l/ \8 x
EDMONTON - The buyer still reigns in Edmonton's housing market, where the number of homes for sale has skyrocketed by 268 per cent from a year ago.
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; u" s, M+ U! t# l6 bFigures released Thursday by the Realtors Association of Edmonton show there were 9,464 residential properties available in the city area -- up by a whopping 1,220 homes from February.
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; ^; L: \3 c" fThat's the third-largest inventory in Edmonton history. Only last September and October were there more homes for sale at month's end, 9,918 and 9,577 respectively.
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- t! w4 k0 G/ M0 J" g$ O J3 SAssociation president Marc Perras said the inventory, about six month's worth, stems largely from fewer people moving to Alberta.3 p7 N6 ^3 H* H E
+ x N& {5 Z7 F O5 ENet migration to Alberta last year was 27,048. That's down significantly from 74,523 who moved here in 2006, according to Statistics Canada data.- q2 K/ O }/ m
+ B/ R# N; h, r% j) `"We had an industry that ramped up, expecting that those numbers would keep up and now, as a result of that drop-off, we've seen inventory numbers come up fairly significantly," Perras said.# v4 N5 Y4 V) J/ \- @
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He predicted home prices will increase by the year's end as inventory drops and called the current situation a "stable, normal" market.
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"Our sales volumes are similar to what we saw in 2004 and 2005 and our prices are essentially flat.
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, d% f6 Z# C! V8 }"We saw quite a roller-coaster ride last year when prices jumped up significantly in the first six months and fell off significantly in the last six months."
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- c+ b, _( R9 C/ [, I! }" Q j5 R4 PA single-family home sold in March for an average price of $387,632, down 2.7 per cent from March last year.
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But the average residential price -- including single-family homes, condos, duplexes, mobile homes and others -- was $343,760, 5.66 per cent higher than March 2007.
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( `9 x! b; h9 [4 U+ z% f* FThere were 1,557 residential properties sold in March with new listings of 4,236 for a sales-to-listing ratio of 37 per cent. Homes spent 51 days on the market, down one day from last month.& h3 l U" y+ J3 V
U' w& A i; U3 Q; JTotal MLS sales in March dropped 31 per cent from a record-setting pace in March 2007.
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0 ?% _) k1 o6 t7 {2 l- uMeanwhile, a house price survey released Thursday by Royal LePage Real Estate Services says Edmonton-area houses became more affordable in the first three months of 2008.
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The study looked at certain local markets examined and found the average price of a "standard two-storey home" fell 3.7 per cent to $363,707.
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The price of detached bungalows fell 4.9 per cent to $330,000 from the same time last year. Standard condo prices also fell 7.7 per cent year-over-year to $235,000, said the LePage study.
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Ken Shearer, a Royal LePage broker and owner, said debate over energy royalties kept house prices lower.: n! T$ X8 X' y
! h& }/ f* `) [+ @"As a result of this debate, the market has receded from the wild pace it experienced last year as buyers are simply no longer interested in paying skyrocketing house prices," he said.: z7 m/ D" E: d( g, u' C
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According to the report, prices varied by specific market in the Edmonton region. Here are some highlights:
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5 J$ C8 g$ G' f0 e. C# |Sherwood Park: Average prices for two-storey homes dropped by 7.1 per cent to $390,000, while detached bungalows and condos were unchanged from last year.2 G# u3 _* v# o/ a% E0 ~& ]- l3 L
3 g; K2 v Z. M$ ^# m' l! M8 ], r USpruce Grove: A two-storey home rose 6.9 per cent to $405,000 year-over-year.* V. s- v1 S( j# \3 _6 K9 R
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Riverbend/Terwilligar: A two-storey property rose by 12.7 per cent to $410,950 over the same time last year. The average price of a detached bungalow rose by 2.6 per cent to $390,000, while condo prices dropped by 10.6 per cent to $235,000.' B6 N! ]% M) j. p0 M* m- I
" K& r$ e* _, G: l# M vLeduc: Average condo prices rose by 9.1 per cent to $240,000 year-over-year. Two-storey house prices dropped by 7.5 per cent ($310,000.): A/ |' v2 f" {1 O! i0 y0 S
1 m4 W- m0 l. `. }, ?0 aSt. Albert: The average price of a two-storey home fell by 12.8 per cent to $340,000 while detached bungalows dropped by 12.3 per cent and condos by 13.3 per cent.
1 p8 |+ M0 ~, Y7 ^" t- ?2 \Castle Downs: Average detached bungalows fell by 18.6 per cent to $285,000. Average two-storey homes went down 11.4 per cent to $350,000.
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Clareview: Detached bungalows decreased by 8.8 per cent to $310,000, year-over-year. Condo prices fell by 16 per cent to $210,000 from the same time last year. |
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