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Average price slips as fewer people moving to Alberta, realtors association says
* P5 A- H: c; C9 N4 ZBill Mah, The Edmonton Journal
$ F, P( w/ M1 ~ {* oPublished: 1:31 am
" I5 `2 ?. N$ gEDMONTON - 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.5 M; t0 E: t- L; j
0 R! L" U D ~* \2 n/ u" UThat'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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3 `( l) X7 N* z, K7 o m5 HAssociation president Marc Perras said the inventory, about six month's worth, stems largely from fewer people moving to Alberta.. O' v. M* A) G8 v8 C- J
% F4 F. s! s, J6 A- c# {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.) ?8 \- O5 {& Y# E/ X
) L2 l# W- s9 w, z5 G"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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* Y6 Z% }8 H1 T6 A6 \/ F- z" b! j8 x8 ^He predicted home prices will increase by the year's end as inventory drops and called the current situation a "stable, normal" market.! J4 t4 ?8 e, _8 P$ {
' t0 B# u& g" Y/ e% v, h& t5 Z"Our sales volumes are similar to what we saw in 2004 and 2005 and our prices are essentially flat.- \1 o5 Y2 ]1 Y' n% T
2 U* O7 Q/ p& T9 G" }"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.": g3 t& f: R: K3 D- 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.
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7 |) ?" p: Y; a6 ~0 ]/ VBut 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.% c) r' S- ?& Z P
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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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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 $235,000, said the LePage study.1 C% p2 \, ?# J/ z
# \* \1 h1 Y- z! @Ken Shearer, a Royal LePage broker and owner, said debate over energy royalties kept house prices lower.
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4 a! a# \1 F! `' S- X. r1 `: V"As a result of this debate, the market has receded from the wild pace it experienced last year as buyers are simply no longer interested in paying skyrocketing house prices," he said.9 |& V/ P! U! R( I
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According to the report, prices varied by specific market in the Edmonton region. Here are some highlights:
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. K D" B m3 {, C$ h& g( D7 j6 GSherwood 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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3 Q: z* c: K( I* E0 I( ~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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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.# ^+ t, ~7 ^: x1 Y
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.# w) U. ?4 d5 P- w; g1 H" ~
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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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