 鲜花( 17)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Average price slips as fewer people moving to Alberta, realtors association says9 p1 b! A7 v' \1 G" r/ v9 Y$ G
Bill Mah, The Edmonton Journal2 L I a! G& y+ b# c
Published: 1:31 am
( `. f* B, e% j3 h) f1 }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.( h& ?, v- ~4 m. V! @' a
7 b8 Q. q& J1 \" i( eFigures 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.
* \; R- P1 N/ i) H# }7 g
3 K) ]( W7 e9 L6 p1 dThat'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.
3 Q' B3 w/ C! m0 O' ?8 a/ c7 P) U- ?2 [
2 P2 B$ q& g i4 O( g; L
Association president Marc Perras said the inventory, about six month's worth, stems largely from fewer people moving to Alberta." e* D. \, O' Z1 T! t0 S
' N, K8 C1 }5 c" s. ^: c
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.' C1 d% o2 V, L6 Z; L. Q3 g2 P
- o3 b; c, y, y S' f"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.2 {: q0 G1 I2 }% e
1 }6 l/ t: D0 ]/ `3 ^! V
He predicted home prices will increase by the year's end as inventory drops and called the current situation a "stable, normal" market., z/ t( p( n6 Z# b% F* D
8 c/ q9 f9 X6 x) Z6 s# J0 @; C
"Our sales volumes are similar to what we saw in 2004 and 2005 and our prices are essentially flat.
T* m' c% ~" Q+ f7 [3 K. P0 F7 [: ~* d: Y" L6 B/ h a; J I
"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."4 e' s8 V' @% m' J3 ^
. B: P! `2 R( w$ l5 ?; M
A single-family home sold in March for an average price of $387,632, down 2.7 per cent from March last year.. u* z1 I% w* z o2 Z6 F
* g! K% A$ |3 OBut the average residential price -- including single-family homes, condos, duplexes, mobile homes and others -- was $343,760, 5.66 per cent higher than March 2007.2 @& U4 @9 u) X% r7 k( w( y
* M) t+ j4 A8 L! [: A) {$ wThere 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.! L6 Q: E9 Z2 I2 l* x4 m8 o3 F
8 @& j4 w0 _5 @( ~, I4 K, f- bTotal MLS sales in March dropped 31 per cent from a record-setting pace in March 2007.
( ~9 ?9 x% Z L0 a' o* q" x ^: R# o- G u0 O" g( m+ C
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.
/ Y; d! l, {5 a* ~: i# P7 A3 j- N. k r. o) N6 @' ^: n
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 $363,707.
9 V$ Z$ l" m* O5 z8 u3 o% N
' z4 k1 U4 u* f$ T fThe 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 $235,000, said the LePage study.( N/ F5 X# g) T* `! E% s
6 ~% Z/ A4 e% L1 Q) j& r) NKen Shearer, a Royal LePage broker and owner, said debate over energy royalties kept house prices lower.: a5 O" S* c4 p( R/ D& J# s
" l3 X4 q/ ^ e( S# m
"As a result of this debate, the market has receded from the wild pace it experienced last year as buyers are simply no longer interested in paying skyrocketing house prices," he said., y& ?( h- N/ [0 R$ H
" O, p# ^. w9 r2 a( N: OAccording to the report, prices varied by specific market in the Edmonton region. Here are some highlights:
. s, w6 I0 |' m* G. G4 m; q' Q" o& p0 q) ]2 V* a3 n' V
Sherwood Park: Average prices for two-storey homes dropped by 7.1 per cent to $390,000, while detached bungalows and condos were unchanged from last year.6 P$ p3 ]2 s9 Z) S$ S
+ z$ n l- o; ?0 {Spruce Grove: A two-storey home rose 6.9 per cent to $405,000 year-over-year.: T; }7 |, Q2 c# `& M# D
# k( l) C$ z9 d5 [4 f- PRiverbend/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., C' C9 A3 h5 N. h8 W; g
* @, d0 V4 R. ^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.)
/ l8 _, r' L( K
/ T/ H8 _0 g S" t1 @+ @St. Albert: The average price of a two-storey home fell by 12.8 per cent to $340,000 while detached bungalows dropped by 12.3 per cent and condos by 13.3 per cent.
9 U- J$ b2 d0 cCastle Downs: Average detached bungalows fell by 18.6 per cent to $285,000. Average two-storey homes went down 11.4 per cent to $350,000.
% o2 R$ E* Y. @1 I% n$ t
. W5 k& w, K& C/ [/ T( |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. |
|