 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/H ... /1248520/story.html
. i2 n+ {4 V: K, [6 N( f4 y) E/ G: H, m" Y
EDMONTON — Edmonton’s resale housing market sales kicked off the new year by stumbling out the gate — with residential MLS sales down 40.5 per cent compared to January 2008.7 [# ~& p ?" U# U1 c/ ~8 G$ ]
' u% x# y: R4 A
Every indicator fared worse than it did in January of last year, showed Multiple Listing Service figures released Tuesday.
& @4 b9 \3 L( y3 p* @: S, {; d* c+ S* ^/ c# b- [9 v; [6 `
- Total MLS sales plunged 40.9 per cent.9 \9 J" o! ~( v0 G* K* X, Y' H6 q
\2 ]; j6 _& x
- Value of total sales for the month was $265 million — down 42.4 per cent.% c6 n7 f4 @1 C
& s6 ?) z7 E1 c `- The single-family home average selling price fell 7.1 per cent to $352,689.
! F1 L& _6 b1 A! I% x& J7 ~5 o. }9 D
- The average condo selling price dropped 7.5 per cent to $238,535.
) ?! Q, [" v, ]7 q4 B- k1 ^7 S. a" l& N" K9 {) ]
- In the single-family market, there were 502 houses sold, down from 767 in January 2008.
: T) f$ B- S+ p5 U5 `& n5 g5 i3 P& ^' P" A4 `* W) j0 ], O# B" ^
- For condos, only 189 sold in January compared to 363 a year ago.
) x- Z/ l9 o% r& I* @. V
! M# x. @& \, `, V$ M( w! d2 wFor all that, Charlie Ponde, president of the Realtors Association of Edmonton, sounded optimistic, if cautious.' J: y$ E8 V" J% {& o$ I
4 g0 o& z8 E3 z/ s( t/ t# Z2 b) L
He looked on the bright side, the month-by-month comparison — January figures were modestly better than December’s gloomy statistics.5 {5 P6 r$ A, K$ N2 {0 ]5 ?
6 k$ `3 T! y+ N9 X2 @& g; e* ]2 m* zMultiple Listing Service figures released Tuesday showed 730 residential properties sold in the Edmonton region in January, up from 608 in December.5 F- D# v) C2 i( [* ?* k' b* |, M
9 T- n( f- h, y1 F, QSales prices were also up in all categories as compared to the previous month. The average price of a single-family home in January was $352,689 — up a quarter of a per cent compared to December. Condo prices nudged up 1.8 per cent to $238,535 and duplex/rowhouses rose 2.2 per cent to $299,222.
- ]3 f! y2 t2 O: B/ P$ X9 r" {; o( f0 y5 j) O
“Nobody rings a bell when prices hit the bottom,” he said. “The bottom is evident only after several months of rising prices. One month does not make a trend but the market is certainly welcoming to home buyers.” c a$ @. b/ x z; T% q# R
$ x, x* b0 @, w3 OHe pointed to interest rates which have fallen to their lowest in years, a large selection of homes and recently introduced federal tax credits for home renovation and a change in the amount of RRSP savings that can be applied to a first-home purchase — now $25,000 up from $20,000. |
|