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Average price slips as fewer people moving to Alberta, realtors association says5 r4 ~. q# M. ?$ u- V/ F6 U) t
Bill Mah, The Edmonton Journal
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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.3 q2 q5 ?7 B/ h6 N
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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.* L: O7 S$ r, J
' s: i- ^9 w6 {7 c' t8 G% TThat'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.* Y1 S4 K }! z8 L( M
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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.( K2 r& `- m3 {' f: u* 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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& R+ s! e1 L$ N: w5 LHe predicted home prices will increase by the year's end as inventory drops and called the current situation a "stable, normal" market.) ?( E$ G- b! w& o" Q& i4 ]
4 O7 y" z. n# W, b8 s% B"Our sales volumes are similar to what we saw in 2004 and 2005 and our prices are essentially flat.
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9 b, P `% m' |' ]"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.") i3 _9 a; }9 C% ]0 l c
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A single-family home sold in March for an average price of $387,632, down 2.7 per cent from March last year.1 q# j! J* ?5 |8 | J' R( c
8 z$ G* ^: A$ j6 t/ mBut the average residential price -- including single-family homes, condos, duplexes, mobile homes and others -- was $343,760, 5.66 per cent higher than March 2007., }1 H* }: m4 Y1 U6 u! z% t
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There were 1,557 residential properties sold in March with new listings of 4,236 for a sales-to-listing ratio of 37 per cent. Homes spent 51 days on the market, down one day from last month., N- {3 [$ G. b- i: |
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Total MLS sales in March dropped 31 per cent from a record-setting pace in March 2007.. I# V5 l# u `6 s0 ~
0 G7 j1 p% |. h7 C& Q$ P5 C/ ?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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- B2 p, `8 n. s mThe 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." r r; r% n) F! A Q; L
. V A! D! H8 R2 S0 K1 ]3 oThe 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.& X; Q! f. x" K% A2 U
7 g/ `! ~, f. y% v9 ]Ken Shearer, a Royal LePage broker and owner, said debate over energy royalties kept house prices lower.
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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.! {8 Q5 w4 O( n( W6 P
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According to the report, prices varied by specific market in the Edmonton region. Here are some highlights:
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, i0 H; v; E# J, c0 S3 ^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.
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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.)6 o! H7 p6 J9 L N1 `8 S
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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.' K9 f& w- S) S3 F; ?6 P& U
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.
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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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