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http://www.edmontonjournal.com/H ... /1248520/story.html& g4 f$ J4 u6 Z: C1 m9 x
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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.
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5 H3 G6 \" s9 l% [# K" `. Z3 XEvery indicator fared worse than it did in January of last year, showed Multiple Listing Service figures released Tuesday.0 A: h' ]9 [ p( y/ I$ x+ ~* C
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- Total MLS sales plunged 40.9 per cent.' U( v* f1 J; z+ W* z( M
' t. r B3 b% l) b# \: N- Value of total sales for the month was $265 million — down 42.4 per cent.
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1 W4 U2 b( M4 X% W" c G- The single-family home average selling price fell 7.1 per cent to $352,689.: c8 E# E$ R& m7 b
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- The average condo selling price dropped 7.5 per cent to $238,535. T# M* N1 o$ ]; v! r( M: f
, P/ e) R: ]: N/ N3 S# v- In the single-family market, there were 502 houses sold, down from 767 in January 2008.
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- For condos, only 189 sold in January compared to 363 a year ago.$ Y$ @5 W5 p' W* P8 `
9 I' f S1 h( y9 ]For all that, Charlie Ponde, president of the Realtors Association of Edmonton, sounded optimistic, if cautious.
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& M+ y( s! e0 w0 ~- V$ n( z* E/ OHe looked on the bright side, the month-by-month comparison — January figures were modestly better than December’s gloomy statistics.
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Multiple Listing Service figures released Tuesday showed 730 residential properties sold in the Edmonton region in January, up from 608 in December.+ i }: v- [; N; M0 ^0 G% Y
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Sales 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.
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“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.”7 w: h9 [7 u/ q2 g% N
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He 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. |
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