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Average price slips as fewer people moving to Alberta, realtors association says8 w+ ~# Q- P) w% ~; y4 ]
Bill Mah, The Edmonton Journal
$ B* Z- ?8 c. f8 r* u* {, o& OPublished: 1:31 am7 H# \4 ^* D6 Q9 \7 Z" M" E
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.6 x1 T S9 o- F; r( a [
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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.0 O8 S9 A# z+ G4 a7 Q
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Association president Marc Perras said the inventory, about six month's worth, stems largely from fewer people moving to Alberta.9 @. o9 ?' w# v- ^/ a+ C$ b
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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.& |* s) |* K9 |; i* g0 ^- r2 M8 x# _
: j! U, O3 m2 U) w4 \3 S"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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( P$ a2 w6 x7 d0 s, u4 O4 `& hHe 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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! K9 i, c+ Z; U% O, _6 c% [( q$ G5 c"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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0 t: O( |, ?+ Y' mA 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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+ B; [, N! D# i' `! J! X/ ~But the average residential price -- including single-family homes, condos, duplexes, mobile homes and others -- was $343,760, 5.66 per cent higher than March 2007. n! b" _) L' M& S9 X- i/ c0 B4 H
3 b6 ]3 v# }( `* kThere were 1,557 residential properties sold in March with new listings of 4,236 for a sales-to-listing ratio of 37 per cent. Homes spent 51 days on the market, down one day from last month.
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Total MLS sales in March dropped 31 per cent from a record-setting pace in March 2007.$ p7 G5 T! ^, I# O; o V- O" a+ r
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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.- l* V( c" e+ d/ B* N W9 ]
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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.! ^3 _8 O9 N* }, O2 ~% n8 y
" I& W, I5 ^% C" ~Ken Shearer, a Royal LePage broker and owner, said debate over energy royalties kept house prices lower.& f+ m/ j a! [9 B% _: p7 {- Y1 F
/ w0 O* Z( \: u+ Y9 J"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.) D% @% h6 T" t9 Q4 N+ b' f& d
' a8 r, t# u( xAccording to the report, prices varied by specific market in the Edmonton region. Here are some highlights:
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/ L' s7 D' K% @, e9 r% T+ `Sherwood 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.# d4 X5 ^# o0 F% A" Z* K8 ?( y) ]
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Spruce Grove: A two-storey home rose 6.9 per cent to $405,000 year-over-year./ `0 R( b: L8 c; o$ d1 w. m( n
( B* m7 y7 w, X0 B: q" ]" w* Z/ `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 $235,000.7 y" `/ r7 B% P& t, g" w' G0 s8 p
" E. q! ^5 Y& j) \( n( e7 f# BLeduc: 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 ($310,000.)
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+ k5 ~8 n" P- K) s6 g( W0 U d$ ZSt. 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.1 W- s! c" b6 p1 D6 @- K O
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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! C# w# c( j! ]4 PClareview: 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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