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Thu, April 12, 2007
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: V+ x J* U" [, l, }1 G" u: f: {Calgary ranks sixth as most expensive downtown housing2 a0 W" D. x# G, X, E; |
UPDATED: 2007-04-12 16:38:42 MST
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More and more Calgarians are buying downtown homes but paying top price for the prime location. ' s4 ~' x- X. p" R( w S* N
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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. / K, r: \5 n) T5 `& `1 C2 L
2 z( U7 d4 i. s3 n) J; E: Y% H- O2 mCalgary ranks sixth most expensive of 31 cities surveyed around the world.
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$ E5 b" F$ ?8 tThe 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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George 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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“To live downtown people pay for it.” - ~; a* S: h5 A& k, m) D
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A condo in southwood for instance would run about $323 a sq. ft while downtown goes for about $500. . H, l, T/ J, a0 o# E
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Still Bamber said the interest in downtown living only seems to be getting more popular — a sign Calgary is “getting to be more like a big city.” % m; Y& {, ^( e- D. ?) u2 R0 m
: O% G; E5 N% [Part of the attraction is affordability but also people wanting to buy in to a certain lifestyle, Bamber said. " ~- p) p0 f0 t* b" t7 Q$ m
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“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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) U& S( @& @, ZHe said 30 % of the housing market is condos - the bulk of which are in downtown.
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g q8 ]" H! ~! P9 w# rThe survey showed Vancouver placing fourth most expensive at $577 per sq. ft. while Edmonton was 10th most expensive at $322. . f6 N% G. A& W4 G4 V- W L' Q' ^
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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 $250,000 and a 10-minute drive or 20-minute walk to the downtown business core and the Calgary Tower.
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l; ] ]2 k/ @/ pWhile those looking for life in the suburbs and a better bang for their buck typically see a significant cost savings. ; o2 x6 b c! [. ?! F6 _
! L/ F( ~3 S5 o4 f4 U$ Z& tA 650 sq. ft condo in Southwood, Bamber said, recently sold for about $323 per square foot, for instance. c9 u& B% d( |7 f% R3 S
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- 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 $105 respectively. ( O! P) @: M4 p7 D, ~
! A2 \7 W$ R; [/ 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 6 @4 b% r- m9 ~ O' j( ^/ D
3 m2 Q% g: j3 \" }# kThe 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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