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EDMONTON — Prices for single-family homes in the Edmonton region dropped while condo prices rallied in December, according to figures released today by the Realtors Association of Edmonton.
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“That’s a 180-degree twist from what we saw in the month of November,” said outgoing association president Marc Perras.
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- K" X) U; I5 y+ X9 C+ IThe average price for a single family home dropped by three per cent to $351,870 after remaining flat for two months. That’s $30,000 less than the average price of a single family dwelling at the start of 2008.2 n3 W* p) w$ J4 w8 u# X7 a4 \
, y4 D9 T' Z2 ?% A4 v; p1 F' TCondominium prices — which fell more than eight per cent in the previous two months — edged up 1.2 per cent over November. i. e$ e y2 }2 ], K( G) U x
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Over the year, condo prices dropped 7.5 per cent from $253,270 to $234,286.
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At the end of December, there were 6,316 homes in inventory. The sales to listing ratio was 46 per cent and average days on market was 65, up two from November.
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+ X$ {: N2 z% u" V/ ?3 n8 p6 ?6 ^Residential sales plunged by 29.1 per cent in December to 608. Perras blamed cold weather and global economic uncertainty.7 S+ M( K9 a, o$ J8 _
/ T) Y3 @5 u& f“Who wants to tour homes when both your toes and your portfolio are frozen?” Perras said.9 t' H9 D1 U" Y" K7 y" T
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Neither Perras, nor incoming president Charlie Ponde would release a resale market forecast for 2009 until a news conference scheduled for Thursday.8 h; U( |6 a6 V- q
. z& w( c# g; x) bBut one real estate company predicted Tuesday that after months of sluggish sales and slipping prices, Edmonton’s housing will return to “a normal state” in 2009./ d# i- L2 l) z- W9 C" ^
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The year will bring stable average house prices and gradually increasing sales, according to the Royal LePage 2009 Market Survey Forecast.
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( m3 h$ r% [( |. S! I8 |; T“The combination of healthy employment levels, historically low interest rates and good affordability — something the city has not seen in a while — will all bolster Edmonton’s housing resale market in 2009,” said the survey.
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The report predicts the average local house price to hold steady at $333,000 this year. The number of homes sold is expected to increase by three per cent to 17,825 units, it said.' C) e X* P% X7 [
The company added that a glut of homes that burdened the market shrank in 2008 and will get smaller in 2009, putting Edmonton in a balanced market.
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J, o9 d' M4 ]. g“Nationally, Canadian average house prices are forecast to dip by three per cent from last year to $295,000, while transactions are projected to fall to 416,000 (–3.5 per cent) unit sales in 2009,” the report said.
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# {( N# M& M" }) l4 y* XMeanwhile, the Realtors Association of Edmonton will release a recap of the housing market this morning and a forecast of 2009 on Thursday. |
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