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Average price slips as fewer people moving to Alberta, realtors association says: c/ }+ n" J1 J' c3 Z
Bill Mah, The Edmonton Journal
' P. `$ q3 L. M: g$ [9 A; j, YPublished: 1:31 am4 G( @$ D: Y& u8 L9 x6 T! w- `1 u
EDMONTON - 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. P" ~& F. C0 _6 `9 x7 S
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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.
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( z5 @/ {4 w$ ~/ NThat'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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: i _0 _+ _# M; T5 T& WAssociation president Marc Perras said the inventory, about six month's worth, stems largely from fewer people moving to Alberta.
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+ G0 d' t4 ?! s. l. |- VNet 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.3 _& S' M1 b9 P
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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.
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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.4 \) d; c" V3 M. i& g
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"Our sales volumes are similar to what we saw in 2004 and 2005 and our prices are essentially flat.1 w; i: J6 n0 X+ M/ e+ Y0 ]( Y
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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."6 v( A! X2 T: C
5 t* ]* P! X/ G# O* ^- q- NA single-family home sold in March for an average price of $387,632, down 2.7 per cent from March last year.. Y0 j! \0 v8 P) ^, K: g
& P2 W7 k' W/ t+ wBut the average residential price -- including single-family homes, condos, duplexes, mobile homes and others -- was $343,760, 5.66 per cent higher than March 2007.# M, a' N( k. G+ B4 s, y6 p$ ^! `
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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.
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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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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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8 D+ v/ z- p- p6 a2 {( B6 lThe 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 $235,000, said the LePage study.' j$ u" A: j+ r
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Ken Shearer, a Royal LePage broker and owner, said debate over energy royalties kept house prices lower.
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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.+ h8 \* ^8 f) [% b* |1 Q$ q; |
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According to the report, prices varied by specific market in the Edmonton region. Here are some highlights:! b& y& Y) M8 q6 W% Y% k
3 U7 F- U, o3 x: O0 W6 J _0 h; @+ 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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9 p W6 y, R5 O* V' BSpruce Grove: A two-storey home rose 6.9 per cent to $405,000 year-over-year.
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; D1 @. e* A& Q0 N% ?% _$ hRiverbend/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.
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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.)
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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.
) p9 M6 V# ~ `0 m& Q+ H2 ]# BCastle Downs: Average detached bungalows fell by 18.6 per cent to $285,000. Average two-storey homes went down 11.4 per cent to $350,000.
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$ v2 a. a7 N6 v: n# L2 M! ?' O: uClareview: 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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