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Thu, April 12, 2007
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/ B3 C- e+ _* ^- _. J1 W4 ?8 K# f KCalgary ranks sixth as most expensive downtown housing
1 I; H6 E% v& G {UPDATED: 2007-04-12 16:38:42 MST
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By NADIA MOHARIB, SUN MEDIA
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More and more Calgarians are buying downtown homes but paying top price for the prime location. 0 n$ [, G* E# C* n8 e; ~
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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. / ]) a' B$ K3 @) s( ]+ H: A
- y. ~2 |+ i, R& ]Calgary ranks sixth most expensive of 31 cities surveyed around the world. : W$ G! X( o0 V6 u N7 d0 l+ _2 o/ T
5 c/ P7 y" r: `; Y8 B6 p, x7 DThe 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 $209 per sq. ft. . c. _+ ~4 o, X2 f$ Y0 n
E9 y" A% S' ?" H# YGeorge 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. $ b" Z/ X/ Y9 y. |
5 b; m3 z5 O/ h8 ?6 k+ {“To live downtown people pay for it.”
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9 K: {- }0 T7 g& J" Y' G+ r; v% I7 XA condo in southwood for instance would run about $323 a sq. ft while downtown goes for about $500. ' i' L$ B( }) P5 G7 {
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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.” ) Z' e3 E3 T+ l' T% d
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Part of the attraction is affordability but also people wanting to buy in to a certain lifestyle, Bamber said.
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2 g+ h% `0 F* d& v- [/ N“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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" e6 Y( G- V: O! w! ^3 f7 ?6 i, VThe 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. * C' I" t4 }% ~% Q' d2 a
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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. ; Z) t! q) C6 X. c0 [
2 s5 B8 a; ?: [. \! o1 {A 650 sq. ft condo in Southwood, Bamber said, recently sold for about $323 per square foot, for instance. # j/ M$ C A) R5 @7 ^& P1 {
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F7 G( _, y2 O( U- 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. % Y& w. ?9 q0 ^8 F+ h3 S/ l
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— 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 1 Z6 B% f# `0 ]# B
0 D+ p3 T) E' SThe 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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