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Average price slips as fewer people moving to Alberta, realtors association says' A) w9 a( J. k' {& k
Bill Mah, The Edmonton Journal: u8 u7 m K, C; [1 r8 n
Published: 1:31 am
?2 Z u1 v4 LEDMONTON - 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.5 l4 ~% {8 v& J
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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.. D4 r. X& `, s
k8 i; D, Q. U) y1 d4 i9 E2 xThat'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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Association president Marc Perras said the inventory, about six month's worth, stems largely from fewer people moving to Alberta.+ b/ q; _% j8 v5 H/ K, z$ s
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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./ A0 k, q& U5 y6 y
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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.3 Y6 Z1 c( y$ m: i7 {3 u
6 X% F4 C: l. ]$ GHe 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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9 T9 p4 q9 z2 h5 e( I6 T+ q"Our sales volumes are similar to what we saw in 2004 and 2005 and our prices are essentially flat.
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/ W! p) O& {% a1 Z"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.
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! m/ H+ y4 k6 f: O# n5 q' ~- o* g: jBut the average residential price -- including single-family homes, condos, duplexes, mobile homes and others -- was $343,760, 5.66 per cent higher than March 2007., p. y0 u2 ]) l, A- _' o
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There were 1,557 residential properties sold in March with new listings of 4,236 for a sales-to-listing ratio of 37 per cent. Homes spent 51 days on the market, down one day from last month.) N! U& j* E) h4 e( B, V* ^
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Total MLS sales in March dropped 31 per cent from a record-setting pace in March 2007.
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# E8 O/ R- c! j' f$ S6 |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.; h8 @7 p2 ^/ K1 y. @2 N1 \
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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.
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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 $235,000, said the LePage study., q( b" q, g+ n: }# ?$ K* J* |
: ^+ [5 w, J; O; K" L: K! s( _6 KKen Shearer, a Royal LePage broker and owner, said debate over energy royalties kept house prices lower.
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"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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4 x$ B: k* v8 B5 a8 v0 M2 CAccording to the report, prices varied by specific market in the Edmonton region. Here are some highlights:
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6 | t6 A% k Q1 j* w' T4 O. ISherwood Park: Average prices for two-storey homes dropped by 7.1 per cent to $390,000, while detached bungalows and condos were unchanged from last year.1 c' o/ D Y) }1 D. c4 w: U U1 `
* s8 G; z$ p/ _) nSpruce 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.- Z- u: I& T/ r4 I; u; F; c
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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.)7 B# R% ~2 W% J. B. @
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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.
* E# X, z* h' M& X( y3 BCastle Downs: Average detached bungalows fell by 18.6 per cent to $285,000. Average two-storey homes went down 11.4 per cent to $350,000.% X- f2 j+ Z9 s7 s* B, N: o
+ @) n9 c% S$ |, y" j- @' W2 M+ p' ^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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