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Average price slips as fewer people moving to Alberta, realtors association says
9 l$ k& x8 O( R( R; MBill 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.% o9 i# @, Z4 K( W3 P
- E( r$ ~- y( b# Z3 [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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1 T" X0 Z+ Q4 e2 H LThat'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 p: P3 x- jAssociation president Marc Perras said the inventory, about six month's worth, stems largely from fewer people moving to Alberta.& d# D0 k, A& a& }6 J
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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.% w8 [1 }0 H9 Z) b0 i- E
/ O \- F0 j! Q7 r/ o) Z8 g0 H! h' z"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./ B3 B, k4 a9 V
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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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# B* d& Y* O8 Q/ T6 J& D `"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.") | e. y' Q- S+ |. N4 B
6 Y& l: p$ K7 l6 z+ @0 `6 KA 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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But the average residential price -- including single-family homes, condos, duplexes, mobile homes and others -- was $343,760, 5.66 per cent higher than March 2007.2 s3 ~! B# k0 O3 t& ^1 `
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There were 1,557 residential properties sold in March with new listings of 4,236 for a sales-to-listing ratio of 37 per cent. Homes spent 51 days on the market, down one day from last month.( j& s5 h% d! }! `' ?- Y Q
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Total MLS sales in March dropped 31 per cent from a record-setting pace in March 2007.
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Meanwhile, a house price survey released Thursday by Royal LePage Real Estate Services says Edmonton-area houses became more affordable in the first three months of 2008.( |0 k+ ^$ c) a
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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.% F- |: M" v" `# b; o8 O* _
! d4 [0 c# Z _1 t& R1 o9 r. JThe 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.* L9 a3 m( f6 D; f x/ ?+ b2 i2 ?: ]
! F* f& q Z5 R5 h2 I3 W! N2 s6 ^/ F: x"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.* k9 F1 s5 r! s
4 A/ v ]. w5 l0 WAccording to the report, prices varied by specific market in the Edmonton region. Here are some highlights:. M4 T/ T- x3 s; |( l3 x% f
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Sherwood Park: Average prices for two-storey homes dropped by 7.1 per cent to $390,000, while detached bungalows and condos were unchanged from last year.- ?2 n3 q/ ]7 i$ `, z, P
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Spruce Grove: A two-storey home rose 6.9 per cent to $405,000 year-over-year. b& T0 D2 E5 l' S# x1 U9 a( W* z3 H
$ Z# \- f0 f- c: l7 p, [+ QRiverbend/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 $235,000.
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! Q: R2 p) S# W$ 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.)
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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.: h/ ^2 X7 Y/ ^7 {. [
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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# i% l: S+ C& |& f) I, |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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