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Average price slips as fewer people moving to Alberta, realtors association says
8 G* \* o/ T3 WBill Mah, The Edmonton Journal: R5 `5 `' q' I u# E$ h' H
Published: 1:31 am& E; w! I# L0 Z; s- z, s
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.
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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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2 g0 }, I( r5 ^ i" M1 SThat'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/ y9 F7 {! q& v
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; e) U& J; b. E2 N uAssociation president Marc Perras said the inventory, about six month's worth, stems largely from fewer people moving to Alberta.& Z r/ r2 v+ V* r7 M' s: Y
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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.4 n4 w: v/ ]& l8 Q
5 Q8 @$ a2 q; r5 \6 h9 f"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.. a& z8 z _& S: Q! k
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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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: b6 q. p' B" B/ ?) ^& m"Our sales volumes are similar to what we saw in 2004 and 2005 and our prices are essentially flat.1 p6 \9 u7 k, Y/ Z
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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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4 a7 j+ `7 p: ]' O& _A single-family home sold in March for an average price of $387,632, down 2.7 per cent from March last year.$ _/ n# D+ C0 f: _, n0 U4 }
/ D( y! i& [) ~* |But the average residential price -- including single-family homes, condos, duplexes, mobile homes and others -- was $343,760, 5.66 per cent higher than March 2007.
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There were 1,557 residential properties sold in March with new listings of 4,236 for a sales-to-listing ratio of 37 per cent. Homes spent 51 days on the market, down one day from last month." N; o0 U% V) G* V7 v
! Y, \, Q1 S, h( KTotal MLS sales in March dropped 31 per cent from a record-setting pace in March 2007.
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8 n2 K" Z2 X2 P% w2 A3 w. o& wMeanwhile, a house price survey released Thursday by Royal LePage Real Estate Services says Edmonton-area houses became more affordable in the first three months of 2008.2 W$ X* v, I0 g* q5 U4 a
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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." i/ Z& B% V0 r: X7 ]0 F
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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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3 L: v% H1 H. F1 P"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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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.
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Spruce Grove: A two-storey home rose 6.9 per cent to $405,000 year-over-year./ q: u1 d1 w6 h$ y9 c7 X* k" }# g
: s' H& J) b4 e j1 ~; e6 URiverbend/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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( Y4 Q7 p1 l! h. Y- g" oLeduc: 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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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.3 R* Z n) w7 E- v( s
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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