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Average price slips as fewer people moving to Alberta, realtors association says
9 T t* L7 \. f, V( x' l1 I/ MBill Mah, The Edmonton Journal4 ?3 \' Q/ s7 K/ P
Published: 1:31 am
6 P! n, t5 R5 G( R* J4 FEDMONTON - 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.+ f9 G+ p) J- n$ w2 V* s' ]; o
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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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8 W# L6 _) H6 d4 _Association president Marc Perras said the inventory, about six month's worth, stems largely from fewer people moving to Alberta.3 r; c. P5 V! [* Z2 s+ f. R
; t& ~$ t8 S; g4 b4 hNet 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.% K. P- T0 O8 ^1 o
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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.
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"Our sales volumes are similar to what we saw in 2004 and 2005 and our prices are essentially flat.
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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."
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A single-family home sold in March for an average price of $387,632, down 2.7 per cent from March last year.0 G/ f# Q) Q5 {; Y
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But 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.
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1 ?& i* ?+ ^7 {2 WThere 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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[% Q( h6 H* [( c/ X) A8 G& P4 HMeanwhile, 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.- n9 K! j1 l" b+ X5 g& l
& [. c, c O" w7 r) OThe 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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* q# M: h/ w1 [ {The 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.
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Ken Shearer, a Royal LePage broker and owner, said debate over energy royalties kept house prices lower.0 u" Y/ R3 a8 Y8 n: `6 F/ D& g
/ o. [6 ^! t0 B0 D# s0 j( @7 F"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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According to the report, prices varied by specific market in the Edmonton region. Here are some highlights:
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# Z) s3 {/ _0 J3 p6 x8 L1 ESherwood 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.; J- @( X3 q, p) U. S
% {! V) k# W! e; X5 m; \Spruce Grove: A two-storey home rose 6.9 per cent to $405,000 year-over-year.. K% I1 ]# @% E8 l
2 Y& ^0 X8 u( _# q" F4 ~7 e4 X3 {6 U8 SRiverbend/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./ C- y1 l" M% F
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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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2 ]% ?; b4 B2 _! Q+ e, Q" j/ WSt. 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.* ~' c; W2 w6 G ]
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.: {: x6 S9 r; `( D3 b: Q8 J2 C0 Y
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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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