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Thu, April 12, 2007
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/ B/ P( e# N" M/ \4 t# BCalgary ranks sixth as most expensive downtown housing5 c& x G0 \ T2 I
UPDATED: 2007-04-12 16:38:42 MST d* `0 L5 z4 J1 G7 W" s
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I4 G1 t7 \3 S, a$ N0 z8 @4 |By NADIA MOHARIB, SUN MEDIA& L" \8 D: ^6 ^: b1 g
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More and more Calgarians are buying downtown homes but paying top price for the prime location. ) n- N* U( r/ a
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People who live in downtown business districts in Canada’s largest cities generally pay less per-square foot than people in cities around the world and enjoy shorter daily commutes to work, according to a recent survey done on first-time home buyers by CENTURY 21.
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5 S! @+ \$ l) v+ d8 A+ ECalgary ranks sixth most expensive of 31 cities surveyed around the world.
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The cost to buy in Calgary’s downtown is even more than settling in Toronto’s core which ranked 16th in the survey with the average cost running $209 per sq. ft.
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n+ W+ c2 F) V C5 AGeorge Bamber, owner of a Calgary-based Century 21 said it’s a sign of a city maturing and becoming more like Vancouver or Toronto where downtown is a place where people live and work.“You just get more real estate for your money outside of downtown,” he said.
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1 f/ t! i" e$ o% Y4 G4 ~“To live downtown people pay for it.”
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& P4 s* X, ~. v/ s/ _2 M/ eA condo in southwood for instance would run about $323 a sq. ft while downtown goes for about $500.
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0 q8 j9 @: ^% \& O% j" IStill Bamber said the interest in downtown living only seems to be getting more popular — a sign Calgary is “getting to be more like a big city.” ( `- M+ B# C( L: x0 K
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Part of the attraction is affordability but also people wanting to buy in to a certain lifestyle, Bamber said.
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“People want to be close to restaurants and bars and don’t want to drive an hour to work,” he said. / m- \9 j9 B( o3 E( H: [# |
8 L- M& w% v0 R) rHe said 30 % of the housing market is condos - the bulk of which are in downtown.
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7 Z. d' ~9 m7 T$ Y# aThe survey showed Vancouver placing fourth most expensive at $577 per sq. ft. while Edmonton was 10th most expensive at $322.
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( o `6 C$ @ pIn Calgary, a typical first-time buyer would choose a one-bedroom, one-bath 500-sq. ft. apartment in Mission or Connaught priced at about $250,000 and a 10-minute drive or 20-minute walk to the downtown business core and the Calgary Tower. 0 w" \% W! s6 f |6 {8 {9 t
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While those looking for life in the suburbs and a better bang for their buck typically see a significant cost savings. , D2 H/ A1 I) A6 O
; T3 r$ t& a0 W, X. K5 nA 650 sq. ft condo in Southwood, Bamber said, recently sold for about $323 per square foot, for instance.
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$ I( F; A: q- l" a5 v* _2 D( e- St. John’s and Quebec City had the lowest and second-lowest per-square-foot downtown prices of all 31 cities surveyed, at $55 and $93 respectively.— The two lowest per-square-foot prices for international cities were Istanbul, Turkey and Sydney, Australia, at $94 and $105 respectively.
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— Vancouver was fourth most expensive at $577 per square foot while Calgary was sixth most expensive at $500 and Edmonton was 10th most expensive at $322 — Globally Paris was the most expensive at $1,051 per square foot while London was fifth most expensive at $532 and New York was eighth most expensive at $375 The 10 least expensive downtown housing markets as ranked per-square-foot for first-time buyers are; St. John’s $55 Quebec City $93 Istanbul $94 Halifax $97 Charlottetown $104 Sydney, Australia $105 Bogota $114 Mexico City $119
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The 10 most expensive downtown housing markets; Paris $1051 Moscow $688 Seol $630 Vancouver $577 London, England $532 Calgary $500 Athens $375 New York City $375 Tokyo, $325 Edmonton $322. |
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