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Average price slips as fewer people moving to Alberta, realtors association says7 D3 e5 J, c/ Y9 n
Bill Mah, The Edmonton Journal
M# t2 |- J/ _6 P' K# DPublished: 1:31 am
+ k, _9 F% q) {8 s: c/ mEDMONTON - 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.7 r P1 A; g/ ]5 k+ Z; V5 Y
+ q( I# T, }3 ]( P1 o+ Y/ ?6 T& S$ hFigures 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.6 z& Z8 g; W5 I- w+ R) F
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Association president Marc Perras said the inventory, about six month's worth, stems largely from fewer people moving to Alberta., T* a: {1 s' j8 x
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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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3 f h& y4 p- d1 \5 W"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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) o: f. \+ {/ {' c# \) @# lHe predicted home prices will increase by the year's end as inventory drops and called the current situation a "stable, normal" market.9 i) q+ O. n7 c) P* C; u. {! C8 q
+ {1 P3 F" M( O9 @3 x7 I"Our sales volumes are similar to what we saw in 2004 and 2005 and our prices are essentially flat.8 c7 Q9 g5 S# E8 c4 l. U
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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."" f2 y2 j1 s8 W- O) x. {
6 ]5 H, K$ x% ZA 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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, Q3 h- [2 _; O9 a7 f) a k& F2 VBut 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.* ~% e' n/ ^% N
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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.# i0 ^. y9 c C2 ]! ]
4 [0 D& M6 N( C0 t ~% I/ ]" C8 g4 IMeanwhile, 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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+ k; Y, V3 ~ b+ c+ [. XThe 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., s* ?. v0 \$ o1 W* x4 ]' m* Z a
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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. H9 K7 Z' b" A9 y
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Ken Shearer, a Royal LePage broker and owner, said debate over energy royalties kept house prices lower.
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& \) z! _+ `+ S. \5 M"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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+ o6 c* h5 ?2 u, l) }' V+ d9 B/ t# aAccording to the report, prices varied by specific market in the Edmonton region. Here are some highlights:
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* f" |. U' |2 a& ~: P3 YSherwood 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.) C9 m9 k; ?: B
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Spruce Grove: A two-storey home rose 6.9 per cent to $405,000 year-over-year.
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Riverbend/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.
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; l: P) ]" N9 N9 i& k* N& uLeduc: 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.)+ T6 g* n8 w4 A/ d5 a
6 |( |3 W4 U \, z' U, nSt. 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.% p6 x/ z% P4 @! n; w/ [
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.
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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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