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Average price slips as fewer people moving to Alberta, realtors association says
/ G) _; K& Z( A7 w- j7 }0 aBill Mah, The Edmonton Journal
2 B t9 Y: ?( H( @/ w9 UPublished: 1:31 am2 M. U Q% V, q
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., X" A) H! F. W/ R3 A5 M+ k
6 B7 _7 v4 K) R \; y iFigures 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 Z3 S$ K0 J$ b8 Y- {Association president Marc Perras said the inventory, about six month's worth, stems largely from fewer people moving to Alberta.: N( M. l$ f a
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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.
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"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.: ?: |$ |. l* z% \ R$ I+ Z. X
- u8 C j( T0 k" ]9 C5 m) j9 wHe 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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/ u, { r4 }/ T& n- g"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."6 l6 A2 M d7 _- Y
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A 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 $343,760, 5.66 per cent higher than March 2007.
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There were 1,557 residential properties sold in March with new listings of 4,236 for a sales-to-listing ratio of 37 per cent. Homes spent 51 days on the market, down one day from last month.- G+ M( }- z0 L; k# p3 o; O6 e0 o
u' ?& }; m% p6 R6 ?0 NTotal MLS sales in March dropped 31 per cent from a record-setting pace in March 2007.$ j/ |# H5 U9 q* d+ ]' k9 X
! i, ~7 b9 w! s8 o+ j0 ~8 k- wMeanwhile, 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 2008.1 n. x: C$ g8 t, H3 v
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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 $363,707.6 C3 A1 X) u4 V+ Q1 V+ i
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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., @4 n) l/ }5 X0 d4 e2 z- a2 y3 F. M, r
, ?0 R y0 I7 y, ^Ken Shearer, a Royal LePage broker and owner, said debate over energy royalties kept house prices lower.
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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.3 z+ p. N, z# n7 o
% a! P1 R. q) Z6 o0 M2 lAccording to the report, prices varied by specific market in the Edmonton region. Here are some highlights:
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5 Y9 C/ l- I8 X5 o7 ~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.( @' @5 }' ~* S2 o8 g
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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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! r: n% q( g# N* ?6 V+ p: qRiverbend/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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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.): S* P; Z7 N/ r' y
, Y' V6 \) \4 vSt. Albert: The average price of a two-storey home fell by 12.8 per cent to $340,000 while detached bungalows dropped by 12.3 per cent and condos by 13.3 per cent.# F8 G# q$ R f, d, }4 j
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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) A1 |6 I5 Z3 J" H" m2 wClareview: 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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