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Average price slips as fewer people moving to Alberta, realtors association says
3 M8 ^4 s8 E p3 O( {) m: j, }Bill Mah, The Edmonton Journal2 H9 H! [& y8 K* k- I+ |( n9 r) Y/ s
Published: 1:31 am% s' c6 ?8 r* A: U! D) c
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.
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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.1 ~- Y+ C3 ?3 H' C, }$ S
# S6 o6 S g# [7 U) FThat'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.. M% o2 y: a$ z9 p2 y/ C6 ^2 k! J" s
0 N! j0 M. n( f, t+ L. }# GNet 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. ] L2 N. B, f/ }4 l' h- g
& l! ~+ N" N9 }$ L"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." U- ^: M6 R5 A
" V$ l0 K5 x2 D5 p. O4 ZHe predicted home prices will increase by the year's end as inventory drops and called the current situation a "stable, normal" market.
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"Our sales volumes are similar to what we saw in 2004 and 2005 and our prices are essentially flat.8 p( h! d0 s2 B: b# C& k/ W* T
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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."! ]6 L# V$ a% i# V9 N2 n+ W
6 @6 a3 e, o" |A single-family home sold in March for an average price of $387,632, down 2.7 per cent from March last year.2 Y) f" T k8 C4 F4 a
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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 2007.9 z* n# ?* n# l H
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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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Total MLS sales in March dropped 31 per cent from a record-setting pace in March 2007.
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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.
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4 m+ e; L0 q# Y CThe 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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( o& \/ k/ j0 i: h+ FThe 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 $235,000, said the LePage study.5 j* F0 E2 q! H$ a' o6 f- w
) j; k4 C4 \6 G3 o" Q) _; {& SKen Shearer, a Royal LePage broker and owner, said debate over energy royalties kept house prices lower.* S% V+ |3 P0 w
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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.' E& A- V# q7 C1 V. i
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According to the report, prices varied by specific market in the Edmonton region. Here are some highlights:: u0 \6 W6 w0 W4 j; e" u
; z2 J) [2 z! p" \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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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.# y6 H" @8 W" U/ W" e& t! ^
! c( u. E; A9 r. rLeduc: 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.)3 m* g' `. z0 h, M7 v. M
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St. 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.
8 A4 C+ u1 |2 H7 ]& b# GCastle 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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