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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.- B0 ?* x% N) V J
# q/ I- _& D! H: g5 v“That’s a 180-degree twist from what we saw in the month of November,” said outgoing association president Marc Perras.1 r2 P4 n2 x6 m( K: x! O3 X' \" @
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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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5 T2 ?, y0 N; O7 w/ N/ KCondominium prices — which fell more than eight per cent in the previous two months — edged up 1.2 per cent over November.
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4 O2 l- M2 t* ~# H1 j! L2 B) cOver the year, condo prices dropped 7.5 per cent from $253,270 to $234,286." H0 L+ }8 j& S7 e
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At the end of December, there were 6,316 homes in inventory. The sales to listing ratio was 46 per cent and average days on market was 65, up two from November.6 ^9 s9 S$ V0 \- M( q
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Residential sales plunged by 29.1 per cent in December to 608. Perras blamed cold weather and global economic uncertainty.+ B8 V9 O% F( H- Y6 y! v! _, Y
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“Who wants to tour homes when both your toes and your portfolio are frozen?” Perras said.
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Neither Perras, nor incoming president Charlie Ponde would release a resale market forecast for 2009 until a news conference scheduled for Thursday.1 u( a# Y5 P, H9 C X8 |6 l! J
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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 2009.1 t" |: S0 l$ r: t6 @( U
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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." E p" P. \8 \/ B
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“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.( ~) f. V! j* g. _3 [1 Q
. u, {/ t y! V$ N# Y2 h3 r2 ^The 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.6 ~/ \$ V3 \' _' J6 n- s6 ^
The 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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7 \; s2 c. |9 W* x“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.
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6 S; M' b8 r' K" o+ E6 hMeanwhile, 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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