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Average price slips as fewer people moving to Alberta, realtors association says
5 K1 S' M* W7 \9 ~* [9 f; [' U3 XBill Mah, The Edmonton Journal
9 r' k" X$ q- ]) p& Q' kPublished: 1:31 am* m% o& ?9 M0 M" U( j3 F
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.
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0 q5 k) o8 z( @1 x# a& M8 MFigures 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., ]. M! E, e! M7 q7 @
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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.9 r8 b9 p# Y% G( {
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Association president Marc Perras said the inventory, about six month's worth, stems largely from fewer people moving to Alberta.$ R# R E, H! Z; ?1 f- O/ t, |
: V$ i) Z. t) i( P+ ~+ ]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.) J* p" y* S, L% O3 A3 k& j
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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.7 F' D2 R1 J. \$ `9 @- D
& S/ X; I/ s N6 }He predicted home prices will increase by the year's end as inventory drops and called the current situation a "stable, normal" market.3 W1 ~2 S$ q: L! t% v6 ^: f8 ~" R
0 `. t: p* q( h- J"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."
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. d& |* I) G- F! r6 eA single-family home sold in March for an average price of $387,632, down 2.7 per cent from March last year.1 X7 V* _! I1 X0 F) O) L$ \
' k3 J6 o M+ z- u$ e8 f6 ?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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% D) A- a( ?9 h4 f# gThere 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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0 i0 R+ C% N" H3 a! s1 r' ATotal 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.. n' H4 t. F: P
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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.
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7 w. A4 |* Q7 S* {, cThe 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 $235,000, said the LePage study.' q$ @% J2 q( u) E
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Ken Shearer, a Royal LePage broker and owner, said debate over energy royalties kept house prices lower.7 Y6 ]8 G* i1 Z0 J9 G1 v/ ^( \9 _
# b8 v6 y, p9 Z( [+ w! t5 V7 S"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:2 t% ]9 T t3 g' u3 D3 d
1 `) S4 r' S; b# r! pSherwood 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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6 n4 I6 {4 a1 S- |3 \$ G* MSpruce Grove: A two-storey home rose 6.9 per cent to $405,000 year-over-year.
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- Q7 M( k1 j% s- R( p8 aRiverbend/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 $235,000.1 z4 Q8 x% l p+ }* e
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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.)
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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., K- n0 L: y- R) a7 X. Z* G
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 $350,000.. C& H# L0 e2 g# R% e$ {
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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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