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Average price slips as fewer people moving to Alberta, realtors association says. N$ P9 X% E% Z- F
Bill Mah, The Edmonton Journal( E, p d" w, j3 _1 D1 \. ]: c6 Z' l
Published: 1:31 am
& a; G6 s$ b) Z. I8 d! ^, l2 v( zEDMONTON - 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.2 o4 l% P6 t5 E9 `
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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., i5 s; o: |( O5 ?, ~+ e
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Association president Marc Perras said the inventory, about six month's worth, stems largely from fewer people moving to Alberta.% a9 f2 L: {9 x4 q: F1 _+ p
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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./ v3 x0 q) A+ S6 R5 m$ ?; P4 t8 f9 R: l
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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.
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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.4 c& }+ S V8 L/ i, m
! h% V" s0 R" |3 j9 b* K' r"Our sales volumes are similar to what we saw in 2004 and 2005 and our prices are essentially flat., f9 X' m4 R/ l0 K6 `5 v: R
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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 ?0 _! _6 m4 U! h6 ^3 f
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A single-family home sold in March for an average price of $387,632, down 2.7 per cent from March last year.
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# C3 C" _6 [! d6 ?$ `9 A# T& }But the average residential price -- including single-family homes, condos, duplexes, mobile homes and others -- was $343,760, 5.66 per cent higher than March 2007.6 _# X9 L0 H7 q# I+ i' Q" X
( k7 t/ G3 Z) I# b3 S9 v( [There were 1,557 residential properties sold in March with new listings of 4,236 for a sales-to-listing ratio of 37 per cent. Homes spent 51 days on the market, down one day from last month.
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Total MLS sales in March dropped 31 per cent from a record-setting pace in March 2007.
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Meanwhile, a house price survey released Thursday by Royal LePage Real Estate Services says Edmonton-area houses became more affordable in the first three months of 2008.$ q1 E+ F& S" ~- J
" A- E! M8 h0 S( o# CThe 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.' U/ k+ |( k) F7 R, d. F5 C
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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.- a- g2 `8 F! ?* l* C0 b7 ~( }
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Ken Shearer, a Royal LePage broker and owner, said debate over energy royalties kept house prices lower.8 o5 S) D j, A# E! \( H, N9 N6 _- t% V
6 L/ Q% I, }+ i; w& w$ _( t9 x"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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According to the report, prices varied by specific market in the Edmonton region. Here are some highlights:
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2 s0 X. V/ Y/ h% Z, d$ _Sherwood Park: Average prices for two-storey homes dropped by 7.1 per cent to $390,000, while detached bungalows and condos were unchanged from last year.
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9 }$ O" L- h8 I# Y' ]8 e$ [' d3 cSpruce Grove: A two-storey home rose 6.9 per cent to $405,000 year-over-year.1 H& \9 f" h- @) Z# p/ r& @# N7 N( a
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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 $235,000.
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/ b9 P, l+ F% D& z+ k0 g$ _* a: ALeduc: 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 ($310,000.)
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, f) v* \! N' B$ S# H+ t. {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.2 @( y- k0 Y( j1 I6 f* [' H
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. V! d6 T W: d6 R8 G2 Z. _# ^) ]5 F
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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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