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Average price slips as fewer people moving to Alberta, realtors association says4 S# B$ t+ j% l& \8 _/ ~6 k
Bill Mah, The Edmonton Journal
: k# E- t1 g$ q& i7 H/ t% rPublished: 1:31 am+ [+ O& t; u& i8 R. [: w# X
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./ Y+ q" W3 Q. c1 A8 G: v) {0 L
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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.$ o2 X1 ^/ ?/ i& r9 m
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) L0 A* W7 {% y. l5 {Association president Marc Perras said the inventory, about six month's worth, stems largely from fewer people moving to Alberta.
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) J( u0 U+ u8 r# X XNet 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 \. j$ r r1 b6 U: ]
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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.
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% T) a1 t* G- eHe predicted home prices will increase by the year's end as inventory drops and called the current situation a "stable, normal" market.8 }6 \# \" {; D
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"Our sales volumes are similar to what we saw in 2004 and 2005 and our prices are essentially flat.- {0 ?. |' I; P3 {* @
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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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$ q9 [( |) f( R" m3 zA single-family home sold in March for an average price of $387,632, down 2.7 per cent from March last year.
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2 Z8 B$ @2 {* w! b$ n! KBut 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.
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Total MLS sales in March dropped 31 per cent from a record-setting pace in March 2007.+ @) d/ g8 O7 P+ R& ^
1 }5 Y% E1 w! {5 eMeanwhile, 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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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.% u; J7 x) d) S( \
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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.# T2 |. F% a! z3 g. F1 \
5 {: O7 E* P; M# [4 [+ J pKen Shearer, a Royal LePage broker and owner, said debate over energy royalties kept house prices lower.
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) |# \$ T4 b7 |% U+ k8 s. s"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:/ b5 l1 L# U1 F' T# r* ?5 m
$ H! u3 \9 f" B/ G( E. iSherwood Park: Average prices for two-storey homes dropped by 7.1 per cent to $390,000, while detached bungalows and condos were unchanged from last year.- f' M* C' U1 b, z2 B
& A$ G) T( w) N/ U8 sSpruce Grove: A two-storey home rose 6.9 per cent to $405,000 year-over-year.8 h3 K0 q4 x8 N0 _1 ?% i/ x8 |
# ^( e; S2 ? `# I; I# fRiverbend/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 $235,000.5 Z) s1 p# _/ i" J
$ J0 X1 R: C) Z( qLeduc: 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.)1 N# z( {+ [9 ~* ~
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St. Albert: The average price of a two-storey home fell by 12.8 per cent to $340,000 while detached bungalows dropped by 12.3 per cent and condos by 13.3 per cent.
7 o' N$ H. T7 @% g% r+ [. G) E. a2 wCastle Downs: Average detached bungalows fell by 18.6 per cent to $285,000. Average two-storey homes went down 11.4 per cent to $350,000.1 V* {* M7 I6 O! K
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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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