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Average price slips as fewer people moving to Alberta, realtors association says
% Q& s F3 E" }5 k8 C; _5 |Bill Mah, The Edmonton Journal
* L9 }8 [4 L! Q' Y7 B8 `; }Published: 1:31 am! C! ?( n( @6 k, ]: S* A3 j& R- i
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.8 v5 r8 ~9 a6 X* z/ f/ V" F* ?' ~
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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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That'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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6 q% s* h2 y3 V! gAssociation president Marc Perras said the inventory, about six month's worth, stems largely from fewer people moving to Alberta.2 f/ R/ N3 S. M6 N9 p: E4 L
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Net 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.
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5 a2 r0 Y. X0 r4 M& u"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.# l% U; |9 h! P4 |0 g& h) n
8 |; A6 k8 n8 B: A3 q+ N+ N; ]"Our sales volumes are similar to what we saw in 2004 and 2005 and our prices are essentially flat.
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- S$ [, _: X: ~3 @"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."
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, L7 e( o4 w) p, y) R2 D UA single-family home sold in March for an average price of $387,632, down 2.7 per cent from March last year.
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# h# v- t" K3 RBut 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.' ^8 M- g( r7 _2 _3 i# e; D
$ Y( Q6 P3 }# @& B. ]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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5 \- X6 o |: i) b9 P C7 tThe 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.; k. _: V4 } s3 j
9 J7 y( ?! v; ~/ B4 ]7 ?( N; qThe 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 $235,000, said the LePage study. o% B# D# ?0 v3 @
" t k- w0 j. D/ O( ^Ken Shearer, a Royal LePage broker and owner, said debate over energy royalties kept house prices lower.
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, u* B: T3 U. w/ q* [5 W"As a result of this debate, the market has receded from the wild pace it experienced last year as buyers are simply no longer interested in paying skyrocketing house prices," he said.
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% t2 ^$ `, @! w0 aAccording to the report, prices varied by specific market in the Edmonton region. Here are some highlights:7 l2 \7 T: O" A3 L; N
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Sherwood 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.. s1 J) Y2 Y4 i. \2 J) ~2 E
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Spruce Grove: A two-storey home rose 6.9 per cent to $405,000 year-over-year.2 | U7 N$ G& D! x& Q* J8 U" ]$ [
: Q1 @& P4 o' }9 FRiverbend/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 $235,000.4 n, ?+ O `& e1 m! I( b# c
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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 ($310,000.)# [4 r2 d# e$ I s( B
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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.3 J- I, |- }, ~' a- V3 N* p
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 $350,000.! ~0 m+ n9 C4 C$ C
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Clareview: 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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