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Average price slips as fewer people moving to Alberta, realtors association says2 U1 ^9 p1 V5 J. q' Y
Bill Mah, The Edmonton Journal
8 Q2 D0 G3 h4 R4 P! E+ F. R- q8 FPublished: 1:31 am
3 H3 r- p3 W$ U$ [4 j1 JEDMONTON - 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., E @9 D. A. k% W) n# q
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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.% ]. Q7 p. `5 p' u0 D: d
# T+ l8 h8 h8 p+ Q* jThat'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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- h$ n7 n1 E. X5 ^ SAssociation president Marc Perras said the inventory, about six month's worth, stems largely from fewer people moving to Alberta.0 O' \1 T! w1 ?- r
/ Z, ?) C* R. B- vNet 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.4 s7 J) z* c5 L* w. V. r: T/ C/ T
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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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# o* y8 a3 q9 M S% qHe 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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! @5 h; o, ^/ w$ z"Our sales volumes are similar to what we saw in 2004 and 2005 and our prices are essentially flat.4 v+ d/ `% O) o! _" L
: C: `9 M0 Q3 C# z* L6 j6 @+ s"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."" P2 x7 A1 M, ?) B( P9 ~
8 O T: Y1 k3 p" p+ s. eA single-family home sold in March for an average price of $387,632, down 2.7 per cent from March last year./ s/ B0 I$ W! o/ }/ v5 c
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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.% f# j: E* r/ U3 s6 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 $363,707. U$ P4 c J7 l% m3 r0 K' q; k
* d& O2 f7 v& J! ]0 n, LThe 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 $235,000, said the LePage study.# Z4 A4 w; ?5 c& z! E
4 X6 ]# ` X& P$ K1 dKen Shearer, a Royal LePage broker and owner, said debate over energy royalties kept house prices lower.
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+ B3 H. ]" Q4 g"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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According to the report, prices varied by specific market in the Edmonton region. Here are some highlights:1 m) R& A6 R/ v [
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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.
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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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- v1 I3 y3 m3 e. S/ h9 B% H1 BLeduc: 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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, x L3 x/ X5 h; ?8 SSt. 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.
. Z" G* {9 W Y4 g+ `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.* p# f; ?3 ]0 {# ?" O/ t5 r h
. E X @2 {* r, oClareview: 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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