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Average price slips as fewer people moving to Alberta, realtors association says# @" a8 z$ B/ s: o7 G+ j; v0 }( a
Bill Mah, The Edmonton Journal
- y) ?: w- C# d8 D" u& j9 M' APublished: 1:31 am& |0 N' d" a* b- \$ i+ I- g2 c
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." a; B0 |, L0 C* C, A
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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. C- J3 P7 F: R& o* M8 `
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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./ F; Q+ x# j4 U+ ?4 Q6 ]+ v
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Association president Marc Perras said the inventory, about six month's worth, stems largely from fewer people moving to Alberta.( ^" J5 m, E$ R6 m& F
' f% C$ T: \. @9 ]& M* E& }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.
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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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He predicted home prices will increase by the year's end as inventory drops and called the current situation a "stable, normal" market.# Q* F, M4 a7 u9 k
, t+ i! |' D2 S( T" ["Our sales volumes are similar to what we saw in 2004 and 2005 and our prices are essentially flat.
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! R# _: v9 G5 W6 h"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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A single-family home sold in March for an average price of $387,632, down 2.7 per cent from March last year.
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$ i; Z. X1 i" }9 bBut the average residential price -- including single-family homes, condos, duplexes, mobile homes and others -- was $343,760, 5.66 per cent higher than March 2007. j" z1 {" R. Z3 k
! G, D" @- G' b5 S& f7 @& BThere were 1,557 residential properties sold in March with new listings of 4,236 for a sales-to-listing ratio of 37 per cent. Homes spent 51 days on the market, down one day from last month.$ G) n6 Z# J! m
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Total MLS sales in March dropped 31 per cent from a record-setting pace in March 2007.
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' d7 Z7 @4 r# QMeanwhile, 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.
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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 $235,000, said the LePage study.
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Ken Shearer, a Royal LePage broker and owner, said debate over energy royalties kept house prices lower.
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"As a result of this debate, the market has receded from the wild pace it experienced last year as buyers are simply no longer interested in paying skyrocketing house prices," he said.
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According to the report, prices varied by specific market in the Edmonton region. Here are some highlights:2 w5 t+ C7 P$ M! o7 v
, c* }/ H& u+ Y" M& N$ Y' b+ j7 `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.
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* _4 Q5 w1 _& N; ~; u, b- hSpruce Grove: A two-storey home rose 6.9 per cent to $405,000 year-over-year.
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. e P3 ?1 _& i! m6 P7 P5 sRiverbend/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.
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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.)9 x6 P2 t0 T& e4 f
1 P9 m" Z2 E, p( ySt. 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.
$ t W" O9 w* uCastle 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.
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Y) F2 b1 Q5 L% M" n. oClareview: 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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