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Average price slips as fewer people moving to Alberta, realtors association says8 P! \0 P I) z: P# P
Bill Mah, The Edmonton Journal5 Y2 ~' J$ z5 i* d8 Q% R
Published: 1:31 am
) T# z5 o8 }7 z' Y& e' wEDMONTON - 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.' M; D* f4 _ L& R* e Z. P
2 ~' G* U D7 z. G2 n! J& {& c2 c4 tFigures 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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2 l) x, B$ c& x! K" O5 m0 m# N; 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.: z, G5 ~6 B% Q1 Z* P8 X
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4 M- P E& J3 V+ y& d+ w! o; ZAssociation president Marc Perras said the inventory, about six month's worth, stems largely from fewer people moving to Alberta.5 s( b* w% V+ K! R) g* d7 l( \
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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.
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1 R* T. H. r, Q5 l' I"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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0 b' ?* Y" u0 [- g7 jHe predicted home prices will increase by the year's end as inventory drops and called the current situation a "stable, normal" market.$ d0 y6 Q5 G5 p+ [ W4 i5 G3 b
" t& w- \: {& _! d7 ]6 h"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."3 h' E8 T7 p$ L7 g% Q: f. K
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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.' @5 [0 P8 ~+ T/ [6 x( X
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But the average residential price -- including single-family homes, condos, duplexes, mobile homes and others -- was $343,760, 5.66 per cent higher than March 2007.; s$ G Q! j" }, ]* r
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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. s! {5 p Q9 k- ^
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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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' y+ v6 i- `1 W% |* jMeanwhile, 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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" j3 _/ G0 p6 b1 AThe study looked at certain local markets examined and found the average price of a "standard two-storey home" fell 3.7 per cent to $363,707.0 w" w$ Z+ H: n0 O8 {
; ?' y" S1 x0 C' o( MThe 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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5 n! V& ~5 x! W& T mKen Shearer, a Royal LePage broker and owner, said debate over energy royalties kept house prices lower.
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8 t6 G ^; O& W! w) ~"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:2 ~5 h9 y& d- M6 o% n7 L" A& u4 w' d( {
( ?, b* p: ?7 E7 I2 OSherwood 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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( C2 M- [- t/ V- TSpruce Grove: A two-storey home rose 6.9 per cent to $405,000 year-over-year.* ` Q) l& r$ K* T3 S* s
( o5 y! T: A9 `4 Q! F D% ]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 $235,000.6 s/ b7 W& K3 Y/ ?* U- d& Q# X. k
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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.)
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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.. _1 j& h6 i" L& \& e0 [" s3 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 $350,000.* k, V+ w- ~0 X, i' {/ i
5 |" h2 b6 `3 }. X$ |5 Z! R j6 DClareview: 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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