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Thu, April 12, 2007( v* k0 |4 m% A, Q5 U
+ R* F0 A' p& P5 N6 F7 JCalgary ranks sixth as most expensive downtown housing; L$ R3 @0 L* m, a( ~; Y/ U
UPDATED: 2007-04-12 16:38:42 MST
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. {, r b# M0 A) T RBy NADIA MOHARIB, SUN MEDIA
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0 M: Q$ B/ I/ ?) u# aMore and more Calgarians are buying downtown homes but paying top price for the prime location.
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People who live in downtown business districts in Canada’s largest cities generally pay less per-square foot than people in cities around the world and enjoy shorter daily commutes to work, according to a recent survey done on first-time home buyers by CENTURY 21.
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9 ~$ F$ v( t* XCalgary ranks sixth most expensive of 31 cities surveyed around the world. ! g& Y g1 x! g* L( [" `2 }
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The cost to buy in Calgary’s downtown is even more than settling in Toronto’s core which ranked 16th in the survey with the average cost running $209 per sq. ft.
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X( y$ ^1 Y! I% Q9 h2 Q" c1 gGeorge Bamber, owner of a Calgary-based Century 21 said it’s a sign of a city maturing and becoming more like Vancouver or Toronto where downtown is a place where people live and work.“You just get more real estate for your money outside of downtown,” he said.
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9 G" h3 C% O. o) c9 A1 O' x6 i“To live downtown people pay for it.” Q' T; v" ~6 G: ~( j: ]/ ^
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A condo in southwood for instance would run about $323 a sq. ft while downtown goes for about $500. 0 X* J- h2 c/ u) p
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C1 e# d' I* q2 p, u5 e8 SStill Bamber said the interest in downtown living only seems to be getting more popular — a sign Calgary is “getting to be more like a big city.” 6 z5 W( t5 }/ H4 K; ?1 F1 y7 v# t6 C' T
5 p, `+ C& F# I+ wPart of the attraction is affordability but also people wanting to buy in to a certain lifestyle, Bamber said.
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- u$ ]( Y0 b) y2 D+ T$ d“People want to be close to restaurants and bars and don’t want to drive an hour to work,” he said.
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He said 30 % of the housing market is condos - the bulk of which are in downtown.
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The survey showed Vancouver placing fourth most expensive at $577 per sq. ft. while Edmonton was 10th most expensive at $322.
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In Calgary, a typical first-time buyer would choose a one-bedroom, one-bath 500-sq. ft. apartment in Mission or Connaught priced at about $250,000 and a 10-minute drive or 20-minute walk to the downtown business core and the Calgary Tower. ( `8 Y# f0 r% C; b* v
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While those looking for life in the suburbs and a better bang for their buck typically see a significant cost savings.
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. I3 ^) l) ]. r* _: ?; kA 650 sq. ft condo in Southwood, Bamber said, recently sold for about $323 per square foot, for instance.
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; l$ ?" E- v* w8 K7 S8 kFAST FAX
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6 b8 @2 P0 v7 U$ l9 x7 t- St. John’s and Quebec City had the lowest and second-lowest per-square-foot downtown prices of all 31 cities surveyed, at $55 and $93 respectively.— The two lowest per-square-foot prices for international cities were Istanbul, Turkey and Sydney, Australia, at $94 and $105 respectively. 5 r5 n" ^* W& T& w$ M
( e, j* h0 l, ^+ j3 W5 `1 y% Z— Vancouver was fourth most expensive at $577 per square foot while Calgary was sixth most expensive at $500 and Edmonton was 10th most expensive at $322 — Globally Paris was the most expensive at $1,051 per square foot while London was fifth most expensive at $532 and New York was eighth most expensive at $375 The 10 least expensive downtown housing markets as ranked per-square-foot for first-time buyers are; St. John’s $55 Quebec City $93 Istanbul $94 Halifax $97 Charlottetown $104 Sydney, Australia $105 Bogota $114 Mexico City $119
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The 10 most expensive downtown housing markets; Paris $1051 Moscow $688 Seol $630 Vancouver $577 London, England $532 Calgary $500 Athens $375 New York City $375 Tokyo, $325 Edmonton $322. |
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