 鲜花( 17)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Average price slips as fewer people moving to Alberta, realtors association says
8 W1 v* {+ g7 `; U GBill Mah, The Edmonton Journal
) y! o% w" ]% z. V/ LPublished: 1:31 am9 l8 S" S0 n! B2 R2 v
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.
0 z% t: i9 @$ M- {) H2 J/ c% O: i! `7 a/ M
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./ {! a `" Y" E9 Q. ]3 M0 I
- ]5 u% _" @- E0 a( c
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.
: j' d8 K+ _4 X) |6 {
2 u5 s! D3 M' ]9 y& X- {
" n: G) Z$ v2 oAssociation president Marc Perras said the inventory, about six month's worth, stems largely from fewer people moving to Alberta.' V$ q! K0 N2 L* ]4 r
+ e% b/ }, v2 V# [8 H/ O+ R
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.6 a9 v$ ?$ `0 z' h2 u
% S2 M9 u6 H% O+ t+ _! n$ M"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.+ r: u0 u1 `6 d) B3 P& ^$ N: k3 V
# ]) l M5 f& ]5 Q. hHe predicted home prices will increase by the year's end as inventory drops and called the current situation a "stable, normal" market.+ T/ e+ h6 U, X# l* ]+ x
/ [0 U4 K, @' ^+ `
"Our sales volumes are similar to what we saw in 2004 and 2005 and our prices are essentially flat.
6 l6 u: c6 |$ M
: Q6 Z4 s% Y4 m0 ^8 ?( l: E3 X% l"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."
, i' `6 ^4 a) W/ a2 J ^2 E9 B6 B- N/ Z( m) Y
A single-family home sold in March for an average price of $387,632, down 2.7 per cent from March last year.
2 w) W) s, {2 V4 S) Z1 e' ?
9 ?9 i" m& X+ Z0 k6 m& C" BBut the average residential price -- including single-family homes, condos, duplexes, mobile homes and others -- was $343,760, 5.66 per cent higher than March 2007.
9 }6 b# U% f9 ?1 U- H9 y6 E) s" B5 d5 K) J, E
There were 1,557 residential properties sold in March with new listings of 4,236 for a sales-to-listing ratio of 37 per cent. Homes spent 51 days on the market, down one day from last month.
' M, p K4 a' }0 B& E r6 w: T7 ]
% h5 V# c& Q; x1 m. J j. U+ R1 h5 xTotal MLS sales in March dropped 31 per cent from a record-setting pace in March 2007.: y* p# j$ ^, d6 V$ L+ B7 U
: k; J5 N0 d. {6 O
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.) M/ z+ H! c+ X+ r
! v% ^3 y) w" c8 c2 o& ^
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 $363,707.) T- v$ C2 j( {
1 n' ]8 e) F% NThe 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 $235,000, said the LePage study.
4 s8 ]$ P. d' ~% {9 e- R: m8 h; B6 ~% H# r+ n/ f8 N! w
Ken Shearer, a Royal LePage broker and owner, said debate over energy royalties kept house prices lower.
4 L1 I4 u( U' y5 ?( j6 n- {; k8 A S: `8 u( 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.
5 m8 |1 R f9 o( Z) h, y4 p
4 ]; G! C4 Q& T0 tAccording to the report, prices varied by specific market in the Edmonton region. Here are some highlights:( _2 O K* F# A4 U3 Y T! r
* k! J3 P; _# N# fSherwood Park: Average prices for two-storey homes dropped by 7.1 per cent to $390,000, while detached bungalows and condos were unchanged from last year.( v& K% B* T* e$ Y9 n! x$ K. }
5 j* a' m' N2 Q' y9 @% s
Spruce Grove: A two-storey home rose 6.9 per cent to $405,000 year-over-year.
* D4 N3 O6 ~% f
( i+ d( y' y- I- L. \: G9 oRiverbend/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.
. R' X8 H# y! U0 i! V. D* h3 \2 [% o" J- \: ]9 g
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 ($310,000.)
/ }$ G% ~+ x4 J4 H/ C+ A6 C9 q5 W; X1 K. A# r6 Y2 n9 i
St. Albert: The average price of a two-storey home fell by 12.8 per cent to $340,000 while detached bungalows dropped by 12.3 per cent and condos by 13.3 per cent.
& Z0 r$ `& C9 ?) `; j# tCastle 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.
" ^% D# B1 ~! E4 n5 f% V, Q2 u
. j# P1 O: u# k( 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. |
|