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EDMONTON — Prices for single-family homes in the Edmonton region dropped while condo prices rallied in December, according to figures released today by the Realtors Association of Edmonton.9 K- U. d7 v9 Q0 s( [; d3 h# t7 w
& {: D" b x8 V) J" U- ?“That’s a 180-degree twist from what we saw in the month of November,” said outgoing association president Marc Perras.
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The average price for a single family home dropped by three per cent to $351,870 after remaining flat for two months. That’s $30,000 less than the average price of a single family dwelling at the start of 2008.' D- b0 Z- O+ }" q1 i, B W: [
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Condominium prices — which fell more than eight per cent in the previous two months — edged up 1.2 per cent over November.# ^; R7 y6 U- K# C
4 g9 d; O+ E2 G1 i" T6 K dOver the year, condo prices dropped 7.5 per cent from $253,270 to $234,286.4 l! z* E6 q- u( I' h, h0 E% u
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At the end of December, there were 6,316 homes in inventory. The sales to listing ratio was 46 per cent and average days on market was 65, up two from November.
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Residential sales plunged by 29.1 per cent in December to 608. Perras blamed cold weather and global economic uncertainty.& j+ N7 }' c) K/ k& \7 U
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“Who wants to tour homes when both your toes and your portfolio are frozen?” Perras said.% Z% j8 Y$ ]! w7 I
0 I9 h! l3 j6 N4 s0 PNeither Perras, nor incoming president Charlie Ponde would release a resale market forecast for 2009 until a news conference scheduled for Thursday.8 X3 v8 A) @& c
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But one real estate company predicted Tuesday that after months of sluggish sales and slipping prices, Edmonton’s housing will return to “a normal state” in 2009.
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The year will bring stable average house prices and gradually increasing sales, according to the Royal LePage 2009 Market Survey Forecast.
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% L5 S5 z! H4 J- b“The combination of healthy employment levels, historically low interest rates and good affordability — something the city has not seen in a while — will all bolster Edmonton’s housing resale market in 2009,” said the survey.: D+ ?# i$ V4 a$ L$ \
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The report predicts the average local house price to hold steady at $333,000 this year. The number of homes sold is expected to increase by three per cent to 17,825 units, it said.$ ~; ?: o$ d- u. x; b4 w
The company added that a glut of homes that burdened the market shrank in 2008 and will get smaller in 2009, putting Edmonton in a balanced market.
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4 X) S7 p% _: @" f; O* m4 a5 ^5 V“Nationally, Canadian average house prices are forecast to dip by three per cent from last year to $295,000, while transactions are projected to fall to 416,000 (–3.5 per cent) unit sales in 2009,” the report said.: B+ c d4 ?3 o4 m
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Meanwhile, the Realtors Association of Edmonton will release a recap of the housing market this morning and a forecast of 2009 on Thursday. |
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