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Average price slips as fewer people moving to Alberta, realtors association says% x% \# I2 k* Y4 O) u
Bill Mah, The Edmonton Journal. L# S/ T e' \2 E
Published: 1:31 am/ @6 [8 [7 H1 e a0 d+ m+ K% u" g" E; L
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.
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1 e% r4 j c1 u. b4 N; AFigures 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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; n: }4 M# c+ W4 vThat'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.
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Association president Marc Perras said the inventory, about six month's worth, stems largely from fewer people moving to Alberta.0 p( W6 A. j9 h: u- J- B
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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." @) t) m% A- P9 W3 j# l
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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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2 H( }" e u; z# m' { x* ?5 R( {He predicted home prices will increase by the year's end as inventory drops and called the current situation a "stable, normal" market.
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"Our sales volumes are similar to what we saw in 2004 and 2005 and our prices are essentially flat.& O# R1 ?* j/ J/ o( L
; }/ M- o% U# m6 T( |2 F"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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* X3 e8 V6 ~4 TA single-family home sold in March for an average price of $387,632, down 2.7 per cent from March last year.: P) R/ P( Y0 t& c* e
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But the average residential price -- including single-family homes, condos, duplexes, mobile homes and others -- was $343,760, 5.66 per cent higher than March 2007.: s+ Z2 ^5 h% X3 t7 c6 R6 ~4 z4 b+ n+ P
6 d! u) G5 ?8 o+ z- AThere were 1,557 residential properties sold in March with new listings of 4,236 for a sales-to-listing ratio of 37 per cent. Homes spent 51 days on the market, down one day from last month.! A' ]. J; v5 k9 G3 E9 W* b$ ~
/ X) K; J: q; o, w4 \+ a5 _Total MLS sales in March dropped 31 per cent from a record-setting pace in March 2007.
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" B/ \: e1 d3 B* `1 cMeanwhile, 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 2008.5 F1 E/ G0 A) ]5 L& `
$ U( A* D% i! v' J9 zThe 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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/ a D9 y- r- z) `4 TThe 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 $235,000, said the LePage study.
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* |; H1 R( u( q: lKen Shearer, a Royal LePage broker and owner, said debate over energy royalties kept house prices lower.: E' m/ p/ g2 H3 M
* _2 G0 ^! V: U: Z4 n$ H( U$ z8 q% Z# F"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:
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& g+ ~- L! j" p, E$ q2 \9 ]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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* n. k6 i& j7 O* E( w6 nSpruce Grove: A two-storey home rose 6.9 per cent to $405,000 year-over-year.
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$ {' M, p. f# w! b( YRiverbend/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.+ T. D; g2 l6 t- U9 h @- _
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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 O. ]+ ]" f. R8 F9 [0 F3 P+ |
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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.
' K5 H1 N0 L- A+ Q( n4 k' zCastle 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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) T% p* Q: P+ m' \3 {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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