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不止是有点暖,是高烧~: P. s" P9 k: P' N: k6 C
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http://www.edmontonjournal.com/b ... ?cid=megadrop_story% U6 V/ o/ [' t5 W! R3 N5 I1 T
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( e# P! U, x- U1 Q: L5 ^Edmonton sees 26% spike in luxury-home sales6 j; r" K4 K' `2 `7 A) B: y" E! L
High-end houses defy real estate cooling trend
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5 V6 a0 _- e# a) H- n( tEDMONTON — While homebuying activity is cooling in Edmonton, luxury-home sales are picking up, says a new national report by ReMax.
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“One area of the market that has outperformed all others is the upper end,” said the ReMax Market Trends Report Fall 2010 released Tuesday.
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- x. w! `9 C0 i$ s6 R" jSales of homes priced more than $700,000 are up 26 per cent over 2009, with 240 upscale properties changing hands as of August, compared to 190 units for the same period last year, it said.
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1 ]/ ^6 T i0 W1 PFifty-five homes in the Edmonton area have sold for more than $1 million.
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7 w; e$ H* X. E& u+ ~3 HThe urgency in Edmonton’s residential housing market — prompted by tighter lending policies and the threat of higher interest rates earlier in the year — has given way to more stable conditions heading into the fourth quarter of 2010, the report said.
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; s" s! c7 C4 o! q“Positive announcements in the oil and gas sector should spur renewed activity in residential real estate — as evidenced in the first few weeks of September. " o! V/ Y5 W0 Z$ J+ p
4 L' y! p4 {3 r/ B“Despite recent hikes, interest rates remain attractive with a five-year closed hovering at four per cent. The outlook for the remainder of the year is stable, with no real fluctuations in either sales or price.”
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Year-to-date sales have slipped 14 per cent to 11,773 units, compared to 13,694 during the same period a year earlier, the report said.
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The sales-to-listing ratio is now 47 per cent, down from 59 per cent in 2009, but up from 42 per cent in 2008.$ R; h7 a( E5 v# d/ X) I
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Average price is holding steady, up about four cent to $332,789 in 2010, about $12,500, or 3.9 per cent, higher than a year ago when the residential average was $320,289, the report said.
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Inventory levels are up marginally over last year, but down from peak levels reached in 2007 and 2008, ReMax said.
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“As a result, the housing market has been characterized as balanced, slightly favouring the buyer,” the report said.
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+ G; s& z, p& l+ a! h2 m8 r- _/ sFirst-time buyers in Edmonton remain most active, driving sales of single-family homes between $250,000 and $350,000. Condos represent 34 per cent of residential sales.
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An influx of new units recently has pushed up supply, putting downward pressure on condo prices, according to the report. Tighter lending rules, requiring a 20-per-cent down payment, “is proving to be detrimental to investment activity.”
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* \& A( h% t6 m0 Y4 wThe report, which covered trends and developments in 19 major centres from January to August, found year-to-date sales ahead of 2009 levels in 11 markets.9 T& r1 n2 N9 O A
# Z1 R' l# s+ T0 ^. hPrices were up year-over-year in all cities, with five experiencing double-digit gains in 2010: Vancouver, St. John’s, Sudbury, Winnipeg and the Greater Toronto Area.
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/ r; N1 |% m. ]2 R“We cleaned up in the first quarter of 2010 because housing activity during the same period one year earlier was dismal,” said Elton Ash, regional executive vice-president of ReMax, Western Canada./ p x8 j+ `$ d0 T) `2 T
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“We’re now comparing the second half of the year to 2009 and falling short of expectations. Looking at the big picture however, the market remains healthy.” |
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