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http://www.edmontonjournal.com/H ... /1248520/story.html
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8 h, e2 d% S$ S0 c) z' kEDMONTON — Edmonton’s resale housing market sales kicked off the new year by stumbling out the gate — with residential MLS sales down 40.5 per cent compared to January 2008.
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5 c2 k2 x* @5 R6 ]7 y+ |4 nEvery indicator fared worse than it did in January of last year, showed Multiple Listing Service figures released Tuesday.
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! x6 O# A) I: a1 k$ x- Total MLS sales plunged 40.9 per cent.0 n# z Z+ k* c" Q+ Z7 K& Z
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- Value of total sales for the month was $265 million — down 42.4 per cent.2 |. e: {# V( H' L
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- The single-family home average selling price fell 7.1 per cent to $352,689.2 f1 h2 O9 A" L$ Q" }
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- The average condo selling price dropped 7.5 per cent to $238,535.
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- In the single-family market, there were 502 houses sold, down from 767 in January 2008.3 H- s) G$ k* p/ Q8 p
7 N- [3 y- X3 x! N/ }- For condos, only 189 sold in January compared to 363 a year ago.- c( y: k7 P" C! l# k: y2 X* F
# [# A3 l' S# J# U/ Y$ BFor all that, Charlie Ponde, president of the Realtors Association of Edmonton, sounded optimistic, if cautious.: g& \/ H, O7 ]5 S/ l1 M1 P6 E
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He looked on the bright side, the month-by-month comparison — January figures were modestly better than December’s gloomy statistics.
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Multiple Listing Service figures released Tuesday showed 730 residential properties sold in the Edmonton region in January, up from 608 in December./ z$ \1 {9 c2 N0 e; G. m% b
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Sales prices were also up in all categories as compared to the previous month. The average price of a single-family home in January was $352,689 — up a quarter of a per cent compared to December. Condo prices nudged up 1.8 per cent to $238,535 and duplex/rowhouses rose 2.2 per cent to $299,222.: X5 T- n7 `1 v& \; F3 I$ F3 ~" T
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“Nobody rings a bell when prices hit the bottom,” he said. “The bottom is evident only after several months of rising prices. One month does not make a trend but the market is certainly welcoming to home buyers.”& |0 Y C+ |9 }4 S) H
- D" [# s; A2 A0 h4 D, a( gHe pointed to interest rates which have fallen to their lowest in years, a large selection of homes and recently introduced federal tax credits for home renovation and a change in the amount of RRSP savings that can be applied to a first-home purchase — now $25,000 up from $20,000. |
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