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Average price slips as fewer people moving to Alberta, realtors association says
3 K+ b3 S0 b# o, ]$ x- UBill Mah, The Edmonton Journal. ]& `+ k6 i C8 C& h0 J
Published: 1:31 am9 T- w: O2 I3 |9 G4 E0 R" J
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.5 M. ]" A' i3 ~3 P* p9 G' L
8 x. n1 e' A0 i' s( KFigures 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.( ?3 k/ [. ]" q( ^
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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.: w% e* \. b5 ^
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+ m. a( ?. l! ]7 v/ q2 aAssociation president Marc Perras said the inventory, about six month's worth, stems largely from fewer people moving to Alberta.' u% W: b5 H/ Z% q* |, m
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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." Z7 J3 A+ N p; A$ Z
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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.- e- p& V- \8 i# i% b
! p1 {* B) d: v' k' EHe 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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"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."( i- p, l( \( ~& E& i) O1 V
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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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But the average residential price -- including single-family homes, condos, duplexes, mobile homes and others -- was $343,760, 5.66 per cent higher than March 2007.
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$ T# j/ J/ ~: G/ |: ? MThere 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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- A; O @3 Z9 p- lTotal MLS sales in March dropped 31 per cent from a record-setting pace in March 2007.: A# @( N3 \. p- t& K
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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.
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" P: C" G. c* s' eThe 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.
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Ken Shearer, a Royal LePage broker and owner, said debate over energy royalties kept house prices lower., Z) g( G; t- n( V
, P! G7 W" n! b9 F- H0 a/ G" z, G"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.8 n; ]: a; q- H! ~, x3 k
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Spruce Grove: A two-storey home rose 6.9 per cent to $405,000 year-over-year. N& I7 L# t; e' C4 `7 P5 R- W z) `$ x
/ \. u4 N% W( o) ~( oRiverbend/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 $235,000.8 Q1 z8 Q, z6 S. d; T# l0 G
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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.)
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1 ?0 W6 S2 B. Y7 G4 h% `St. Albert: The average price of a two-storey home fell by 12.8 per cent to $340,000 while detached bungalows dropped by 12.3 per cent and condos by 13.3 per cent.2 M9 O( A- l: i$ e( U
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.) n: G! ]1 n( P. \( W: D$ S
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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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