 鲜花( 7)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
EDMONTON — Prices for single-family homes in the Edmonton region dropped while condo prices rallied in December, according to figures released today by the Realtors Association of Edmonton.
" p' e4 a# m$ ~ t) _) i2 c: m0 {) Q& {9 ]% |; _5 D
“That’s a 180-degree twist from what we saw in the month of November,” said outgoing association president Marc Perras.. E8 Z) V6 }! W! ?+ C! t+ }
+ z( w& U& n0 C4 Z: c
The average price for a single family home dropped by three per cent to $351,870 after remaining flat for two months. That’s $30,000 less than the average price of a single family dwelling at the start of 2008.8 V" n# A8 g4 P3 o& ^4 A
/ `4 v; A& B7 x! p
Condominium prices — which fell more than eight per cent in the previous two months — edged up 1.2 per cent over November.! Y- h" p3 t0 L, A3 _, q
; A) t& j1 ]: G; h6 t3 X
Over the year, condo prices dropped 7.5 per cent from $253,270 to $234,286.
1 N* T8 ~" p1 U; j& W4 i( @! o' O" A5 k8 H" X- k6 f6 h" X8 b
At the end of December, there were 6,316 homes in inventory. The sales to listing ratio was 46 per cent and average days on market was 65, up two from November.
5 s+ l3 F' ^0 H9 U- Z5 i, p. ]0 ~. H/ s
Residential sales plunged by 29.1 per cent in December to 608. Perras blamed cold weather and global economic uncertainty.
3 w! k5 ^' `1 C, W' q" j$ s: O- J I' k7 m
“Who wants to tour homes when both your toes and your portfolio are frozen?” Perras said.
2 O5 M9 C: N, S# h; ]" J
& |: h7 C' i* E$ cNeither Perras, nor incoming president Charlie Ponde would release a resale market forecast for 2009 until a news conference scheduled for Thursday.0 f' y* }( U2 w
# _! x# k" ~: f5 s* N V4 ]
But one real estate company predicted Tuesday that after months of sluggish sales and slipping prices, Edmonton’s housing will return to “a normal state” in 2009.
9 a m7 y$ G5 R& m* I1 n. u& c q1 a+ X0 L6 s
The year will bring stable average house prices and gradually increasing sales, according to the Royal LePage 2009 Market Survey Forecast.
1 e5 Q( k+ y2 N" t; }" |8 E0 }, |7 H9 V! w& |) h
“The combination of healthy employment levels, historically low interest rates and good affordability — something the city has not seen in a while — will all bolster Edmonton’s housing resale market in 2009,” said the survey.
* L E. i* M7 B* A( Z1 P( c4 k% `3 `3 u8 T+ ^1 D' q# a; \( D9 A; O
The report predicts the average local house price to hold steady at $333,000 this year. The number of homes sold is expected to increase by three per cent to 17,825 units, it said.3 a) f7 ]- G" e4 H% p- ^0 A/ y( D
The company added that a glut of homes that burdened the market shrank in 2008 and will get smaller in 2009, putting Edmonton in a balanced market.
5 o; G, Y L) Z7 o! T
5 c4 Q/ k: l, ?9 v3 V7 X+ H“Nationally, Canadian average house prices are forecast to dip by three per cent from last year to $295,000, while transactions are projected to fall to 416,000 (–3.5 per cent) unit sales in 2009,” the report said.1 s C: T. D! |/ X
5 Y% _# M# C4 B& `" T$ y
Meanwhile, the Realtors Association of Edmonton will release a recap of the housing market this morning and a forecast of 2009 on Thursday. |
|