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Average price slips as fewer people moving to Alberta, realtors association says
) p: ~% l* v- d8 u: u4 B7 ?8 rBill Mah, The Edmonton Journal% t" z/ V L7 _; O2 H& Y
Published: 1:31 am
% Z' F! j1 X: sEDMONTON - 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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: h! m4 J4 x% Q5 v" {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.+ E. f0 g) I1 B# }8 S8 _* X
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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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! P7 H3 N! A( c6 c9 z% PAssociation president Marc Perras said the inventory, about six month's worth, stems largely from fewer people moving to Alberta.
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8 E2 |# R7 r7 c7 SNet 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. G! W6 a* \5 `7 q1 Y6 w- }
/ f0 _+ g5 |* O; }, 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.* z% W- O) [9 g ^; e6 {8 W
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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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3 l- ~% `9 m6 z, v5 X5 Z! w"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."
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3 x6 `- N: u5 ?1 V) j6 ? g4 mA single-family home sold in March for an average price of $387,632, down 2.7 per cent from March last year." e2 H4 ]' l3 A. r6 ^6 s" G3 f8 p
/ K0 a% m* m+ x1 YBut the average residential price -- including single-family homes, condos, duplexes, mobile homes and others -- was $343,760, 5.66 per cent higher than March 2007.
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There were 1,557 residential properties sold in March with new listings of 4,236 for a sales-to-listing ratio of 37 per cent. Homes spent 51 days on the market, down one day from last month.
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Total MLS sales in March dropped 31 per cent from a record-setting pace in March 2007.4 `0 o+ z- y3 i) I* b* P4 Z
, k T7 _$ C4 X! `# v2 @; lMeanwhile, 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 $235,000, said the LePage study.* ~( y4 ?0 D7 K
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Ken Shearer, a Royal LePage broker and owner, said debate over energy royalties kept house prices lower./ w8 }* w$ H" r3 T* ~
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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.4 w/ @. M1 v+ B
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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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' ]; _" J T: t" S" SSherwood Park: Average prices for two-storey homes dropped by 7.1 per cent to $390,000, while detached bungalows and condos were unchanged from last year.
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. m$ n/ z. p2 K- x# g0 [ Z( _5 |Spruce Grove: A two-storey home rose 6.9 per cent to $405,000 year-over-year.6 o6 q' l- I& N) @, B( i$ d3 D
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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 $235,000.0 C& x# T h+ Z- o/ e5 W4 ?
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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.)6 J0 K2 X" k, A5 Y
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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.
5 L5 K% l* r3 s, x, [: MCastle 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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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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