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Average price slips as fewer people moving to Alberta, realtors association says
, Q) i. C. K+ z1 M! C, M- G/ A, EBill Mah, The Edmonton Journal2 j- S) K2 s) E" ~% _
Published: 1:31 am
D. l/ V4 p. H2 jEDMONTON - 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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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.3 s# q$ @. O" m, _* e# E
f6 Y9 E+ r# j0 X( y+ f U" _9 T1 EThat'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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Association president Marc Perras said the inventory, about six month's worth, stems largely from fewer people moving to Alberta.* N# ]* F o* X
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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." _3 @* }$ h" z, D% Z+ y9 D
) b& V, C) P, c2 @4 ?"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 V. P' V0 f H* G! a
! J" s$ n1 q( g8 zHe predicted home prices will increase by the year's end as inventory drops and called the current situation a "stable, normal" market.0 T2 `( W# w: M. J+ b) Q% D
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"Our sales volumes are similar to what we saw in 2004 and 2005 and our prices are essentially flat.- N( A% e6 {/ |& W" F* [
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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."" _" p, o' s* f6 V8 z. l
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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.+ w/ P( F0 W6 G. f
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But the average residential price -- including single-family homes, condos, duplexes, mobile homes and others -- was $343,760, 5.66 per cent higher than March 2007./ Y' z e: g, o
, |6 a# d# }$ V, }* l# k+ MThere 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.( z2 z) E5 l; ^: h% ~) f
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Total MLS sales in March dropped 31 per cent from a record-setting pace in March 2007.$ I3 D0 S/ K. \
, A2 }- @2 l3 f' U5 ~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.# U5 M5 r. q# u! u4 ~" L* E
. T, o/ v U! p1 |, g" O! NThe study looked at certain local markets examined and found the average price of a "standard two-storey home" fell 3.7 per cent to $363,707.3 j5 T. e6 v; Z" i/ v
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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.
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Ken Shearer, a Royal LePage broker and owner, said debate over energy royalties kept house prices lower.( I4 l) e3 U; p, b1 J, W. t, `1 @- B# N+ V
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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.
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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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7 E# C" K ^; f/ D, z" S' zSherwood 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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/ t/ J7 _7 u( B& h8 HSpruce Grove: A two-storey home rose 6.9 per cent to $405,000 year-over-year.+ M/ V% L& \% Z* C9 h$ l" S8 K
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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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% N ^1 ~- ]" @1 }8 J* PLeduc: 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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% b! `' ? k/ q9 rSt. 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.
' X/ K: h, d9 P4 n) [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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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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