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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. J1 q0 F! k' H
8 ~( u9 c" T( n4 H% p# V“That’s a 180-degree twist from what we saw in the month of November,” said outgoing association president Marc Perras.# I {! \: ]3 S% {/ C
" `/ ` ]) i6 d7 H7 ?: DThe 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.
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Condominium prices — which fell more than eight per cent in the previous two months — edged up 1.2 per cent over November.
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Over the year, condo prices dropped 7.5 per cent from $253,270 to $234,286.
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At the end of December, there were 6,316 homes in inventory. The sales to listing ratio was 46 per cent and average days on market was 65, up two from November.( r+ \: [1 z7 M" X5 @2 Z! f6 G, @
X+ ~1 ^% d- sResidential sales plunged by 29.1 per cent in December to 608. Perras blamed cold weather and global economic uncertainty.* r" U% C0 e. v
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“Who wants to tour homes when both your toes and your portfolio are frozen?” Perras said." g( a' C5 [1 _3 l, X
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Neither Perras, nor incoming president Charlie Ponde would release a resale market forecast for 2009 until a news conference scheduled for Thursday.
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But one real estate company predicted Tuesday that after months of sluggish sales and slipping prices, Edmonton’s housing will return to “a normal state” in 2009.
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& N* g6 ]" X# Z% [( {) PThe year will bring stable average house prices and gradually increasing sales, according to the Royal LePage 2009 Market Survey Forecast.' ~" p! w$ W, J( [
; J6 x+ O/ C, P" ]6 c# r4 u“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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# J; f: @6 I* _/ g+ C. nThe 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.
9 R, P, o- q) L2 h( zThe 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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+ U8 _, X, a3 k5 n1 `6 t' z- j“Nationally, Canadian average house prices are forecast to dip by three per cent from last year to $295,000, while transactions are projected to fall to 416,000 (–3.5 per cent) unit sales in 2009,” the report said.
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" @$ T. ]/ ^! E; g4 s7 z6 lMeanwhile, 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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