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Average price slips as fewer people moving to Alberta, realtors association says$ M6 C! w! T! ^; j8 M7 x( v* m
Bill Mah, The Edmonton Journal
: b$ s/ c9 w; r4 c; NPublished: 1:31 am
; ~- n" ?, s+ a) {* U* tEDMONTON - 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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0 W" q5 |7 }# {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.8 r5 I" v& j6 V6 u
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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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7 [' h7 g3 g0 f1 |" m5 kAssociation president Marc Perras said the inventory, about six month's worth, stems largely from fewer people moving to Alberta.) \' x5 e8 f. V7 u4 D& M4 H
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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.3 n, E; f8 {* s9 W& I' k( G5 e- x7 {3 i9 Y
8 T+ @! V! b* F7 Q2 ^4 g) z: h"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.% Y; a4 P, v' @ c7 G ?
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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.
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"Our sales volumes are similar to what we saw in 2004 and 2005 and our prices are essentially flat.
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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 n" B6 C( A# z0 \& ~: X2 a1 _
c/ y2 e- t" e* R; K1 O+ [. l1 gA single-family home sold in March for an average price of $387,632, down 2.7 per cent from March last year.' y. b3 d Q3 G9 a6 Q: r# N e) p4 T7 g, w6 F
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But the average residential price -- including single-family homes, condos, duplexes, mobile homes and others -- was $343,760, 5.66 per cent higher than March 2007.8 `3 F: R- Y# x7 I! |; N4 m0 ^) x
+ M* I: F* H! X. {' w3 b7 NThere were 1,557 residential properties sold in March with new listings of 4,236 for a sales-to-listing ratio of 37 per cent. Homes spent 51 days on the market, down one day from last month.$ [$ }5 [3 G5 f, Y. Q. b! m/ Y0 @3 e
( u. [3 _' W+ o( {3 pTotal MLS sales in March dropped 31 per cent from a record-setting pace in March 2007.2 v/ s6 O) V3 ]$ D' e$ c
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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 2008.8 `2 a m, E0 w# z# }
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The 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 $235,000, said the LePage study.3 N. J" ^6 G; i% T; o' F% l) ~+ ^
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Ken Shearer, a Royal LePage broker and owner, said debate over energy royalties kept house prices lower.
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"As a result of this debate, the market has receded from the wild pace it experienced last year as buyers are simply no longer interested in paying skyrocketing house prices," he said.
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) \3 d8 ^% _8 n* M6 U& PAccording to the report, prices varied by specific market in the Edmonton region. Here are some highlights:5 U" V9 K9 {( v: i. j: p
& L' b0 t) G7 F$ @. I& R8 W3 bSherwood 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.5 v: O+ |- G; m
0 G1 z3 b S, n+ |6 I* [Spruce Grove: A two-storey home rose 6.9 per cent to $405,000 year-over-year.
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( f) k, |$ |" I3 _+ U% c) B# ^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 $235,000.
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4 z; H$ B9 l# r$ mLeduc: 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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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.% @) e# X, k1 r" |9 o+ D
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 $350,000.! }. `' d$ N H* v; K
! {+ A: a5 ^+ [" g! j. hClareview: 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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