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Average price slips as fewer people moving to Alberta, realtors association says+ U: Z5 {2 u. u$ ^
Bill Mah, The Edmonton Journal
: T" ^: S' Z- e; ?; mPublished: 1:31 am& Y" p5 | n5 D5 u: m) _8 F* j
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.+ ]' P/ `* {% W, x2 { l! A4 |
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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.
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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.
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Association president Marc Perras said the inventory, about six month's worth, stems largely from fewer people moving to Alberta.
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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.' o0 s" ~' ~$ ^7 i1 Q
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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.
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He predicted home prices will increase by the year's end as inventory drops and called the current situation a "stable, normal" market.4 U* w3 c |3 t0 t. H3 t" V* _7 v
* Y+ K5 v- R! D' p4 o: t"Our sales volumes are similar to what we saw in 2004 and 2005 and our prices are essentially flat.
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# }7 ?) P, }# J8 P& D"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."1 p" G! |0 x2 c
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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.3 c# w# _- ^8 k3 s( p5 m
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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.
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There 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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7 S+ b' I9 }0 W3 M9 STotal MLS sales in March dropped 31 per cent from a record-setting pace in March 2007.4 w# F; W6 \2 X# o
; U, r5 K3 M1 g3 x7 YMeanwhile, 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.
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3 r1 i4 J, @ r+ o8 RThe 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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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 $235,000, said the LePage study.
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Ken Shearer, a Royal LePage broker and owner, said debate over energy royalties kept house prices lower.
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; M* |% H% ?! O7 g"As a result of this debate, the market has receded from the wild pace it experienced last year as buyers are simply no longer interested in paying skyrocketing house prices," he said.
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3 |$ G+ n' h) f% Y5 OAccording to the report, prices varied by specific market in the Edmonton region. Here are some highlights:+ q2 D+ `, p' a* I4 S: A8 h
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Sherwood 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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Spruce Grove: A two-storey home rose 6.9 per cent to $405,000 year-over-year.
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) n) m0 [& L; F. [) VRiverbend/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.& w1 v* c) @7 e3 w
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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 ($310,000.)
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9 n* P% ?" z, |7 E$ Y0 Y: 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.& O1 J9 y6 e7 W
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 $350,000.$ N, U' M- ^; Y8 y0 k
1 J8 V3 g7 V c' TClareview: 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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