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Average price slips as fewer people moving to Alberta, realtors association says& [* ` A% R; i+ Z( r0 c
Bill Mah, The Edmonton Journal
3 V% @ g4 l0 [, A4 c- J+ e, l5 H- t6 gPublished: 1:31 am# Y' p$ S7 D K% c) X
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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$ _! ^7 H$ `, q- y# ]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.+ X4 l* t9 c7 X% J3 [
" C5 V. R3 ^; ?5 WThat'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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. {" b; Y' v: \7 A1 LAssociation president Marc Perras said the inventory, about six month's worth, stems largely from fewer people moving to Alberta.( n0 g& `; \4 |) {6 w# K
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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.
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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.) W. P4 @. o% k- ^8 G, A7 Z" S
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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., \0 S$ y* I- [ a c4 p, s
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"Our sales volumes are similar to what we saw in 2004 and 2005 and our prices are essentially flat.; |8 c6 b3 u1 b9 r
) k9 @1 C8 d( X* N! C, B2 \* I"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."* F7 z( c. I) j8 a
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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.8 L2 ]7 X7 U8 P& V
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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.
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% T% t2 Q s& `0 i- wThere 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.2 \8 h z2 b# |8 J% M; a8 O
) U+ J7 \4 n, o! [Total MLS sales in March dropped 31 per cent from a record-setting pace in March 2007.
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* K4 q: i' G: [9 [! O) Q0 vMeanwhile, 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 2008.4 g0 d' J5 P# E
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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 $235,000, said the LePage study.8 h1 u: Z# B# e9 i B
" R! g+ J( Z: W' E* L$ {Ken Shearer, a Royal LePage broker and owner, said debate over energy royalties kept house prices lower.
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`, e, f& f3 `6 D& |4 ?: O- Z"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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" C" k& R; K5 K* tAccording to the report, prices varied by specific market in the Edmonton region. Here are some highlights:
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2 u) C$ o5 R, `Sherwood Park: Average prices for two-storey homes dropped by 7.1 per cent to $390,000, while detached bungalows and condos were unchanged from last year.$ n' K; T# k6 s" W) E k, w
" M# q: c: y$ PSpruce Grove: A two-storey home rose 6.9 per cent to $405,000 year-over-year.; @$ M" B4 D |0 a" i3 O, j+ k
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Riverbend/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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& \2 z" J( z# P: y. J4 S- o/ OLeduc: 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 ($310,000.)3 V- B$ v" A5 s! @7 Z
" {4 L) r. L( M5 W3 P5 W7 H, y, HSt. 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.
. J7 y( E' a5 v: [8 H) }Castle 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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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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