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Average price slips as fewer people moving to Alberta, realtors association says
- j( u- d+ S% e* l# F- l% `# GBill Mah, The Edmonton Journal$ C& x# L3 Y% v: @' h" ]* g* j+ Z
Published: 1:31 am
* C0 g- O, w) w& K' Y3 hEDMONTON - 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.5 D2 F* F6 I; g/ e4 O
$ `, R3 d; P0 n2 s5 e a Z) g3 V4 `Figures 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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That'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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8 F& c: @8 K) aAssociation president Marc Perras said the inventory, about six month's worth, stems largely from fewer people moving to Alberta.4 a7 [/ t$ o& S, b6 Q
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Net 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.. ^- U2 b/ D- Q5 L
& v. u8 O* S% c4 y9 W" C"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.
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2 I9 r+ m" a& E0 ?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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"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."( R/ m) b6 ^4 p9 w: ]$ f( l
- ^( w ], C; R4 w0 u r/ SA single-family home sold in March for an average price of $387,632, down 2.7 per cent from March last year.
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/ l. ?$ ^( G3 g" m/ T w5 z( hBut 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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There 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.
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& }, u0 [9 ~) V' _! L8 M. zTotal MLS sales in March dropped 31 per cent from a record-setting pace in March 2007.( S) n9 V% Y0 _' _0 Y
1 \8 y: R7 f4 w9 H" A9 X \# dMeanwhile, 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.- G0 w; q& n# \( x+ j# }
2 W6 p" Z4 v* F1 w/ b5 ]+ mThe 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.. Z( ?% Z% a3 W- {
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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.6 b1 d! z( H' `# ?/ H: J" I
+ v9 Z. P: o& G7 @* U8 X% @# P6 I* [Ken Shearer, a Royal LePage broker and owner, said debate over energy royalties kept house prices lower.& ]& \/ B# j* J) _/ U/ z0 _! X
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"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.
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: s2 }* @% E1 z3 f% R7 vAccording to the report, prices varied by specific market in the Edmonton region. Here are some highlights:
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Sherwood Park: Average prices for two-storey homes dropped by 7.1 per cent to $390,000, while detached bungalows and condos were unchanged from last year.. J8 S+ [' D: _% X3 ~) u$ z: p9 i
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Spruce Grove: A two-storey home rose 6.9 per cent to $405,000 year-over-year.
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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 $235,000.
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$ v: D3 W0 w# f' q2 |Leduc: 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.). C% i& C; A3 _/ W
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St. 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.
' ]; [. a9 F) a* v5 yCastle 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.* b0 Y6 G! H. G3 B8 B* r3 L
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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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