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Average price slips as fewer people moving to Alberta, realtors association says
) }" S+ W! X5 @2 q+ V& hBill Mah, The Edmonton Journal3 p2 x5 {( z. L& ]
Published: 1:31 am
: G# f) h# H0 K% S7 c( HEDMONTON - 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.7 \/ R7 r* Q+ k$ S0 k
; w4 Y9 e( D3 e! z2 z+ x, f% oFigures 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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8 l1 o3 {& U! V( b$ F- mThat'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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Association president Marc Perras said the inventory, about six month's worth, stems largely from fewer people moving to Alberta.
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4 I4 c3 l& x, v2 K5 j8 e$ dNet 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. y, F. Z; ], U! ^' K+ K
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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.3 B( i. ^# A! a. a8 u
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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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"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." Z7 {/ T+ Y: p4 s7 T
1 Q; I+ z8 V/ {. ^: ^A single-family home sold in March for an average price of $387,632, down 2.7 per cent from March last year.$ e% I; G0 |3 G' S
. V: K s& O* A9 t7 y6 @& @But the average residential price -- including single-family homes, condos, duplexes, mobile homes and others -- was $343,760, 5.66 per cent higher than March 2007.% {4 o6 }! v5 x( o$ W) C( Y
, Y: d0 g; o5 }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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3 S7 g8 ?, `( |+ S/ {/ r. ~Total MLS sales in March dropped 31 per cent from a record-setting pace in March 2007.* M# l/ p& K% y9 R
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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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/ E4 X3 v+ k) {9 K. {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." d3 r! e E# E
0 ^* \" H: E2 x9 A/ c& C6 YThe 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 $235,000, said the LePage study. T" H& q/ _: e8 z1 Z% y4 n( V
# d$ z( ^9 x8 hKen Shearer, a Royal LePage broker and owner, said debate over energy royalties kept house prices lower.
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" ]/ K1 Z( V5 F) D2 g6 u"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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4 H" h/ Q D! G4 A8 l; g5 nAccording to the report, prices varied by specific market in the Edmonton region. Here are some highlights:% f- v/ `8 R3 |5 B
0 M Q* u) x7 Z2 y, J' ASherwood 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.7 b' y: c, Z! H9 Y7 r! j/ B
, t1 S: |! g1 F9 L# C' L& sSpruce Grove: A two-storey home rose 6.9 per cent to $405,000 year-over-year.: y! N/ G* ~& N$ E2 t
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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 k0 X4 _8 k1 A t% v) f
9 o' [* t, t: q0 LLeduc: 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 $340,000 while detached bungalows dropped by 12.3 per cent and condos by 13.3 per cent.9 `( \- g: X) u$ V h* r3 Q$ G+ [" r! z
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.
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5 }5 F% |- Q. U( FClareview: 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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