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EDMONTON — Prices for single-family homes in the Edmonton region dropped while condo prices rallied in December, according to figures released today by the Realtors Association of Edmonton.
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- Z# B: n4 w- P# f: ]3 h' P: W0 Q“That’s a 180-degree twist from what we saw in the month of November,” said outgoing association president Marc Perras.
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The average price for a single family home dropped by three per cent to $351,870 after remaining flat for two months. That’s $30,000 less than the average price of a single family dwelling at the start of 2008. i' M' |4 l) ?- g: r7 {
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Condominium prices — which fell more than eight per cent in the previous two months — edged up 1.2 per cent over November.# c: U9 i* ^. E5 S5 }
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Over the year, condo prices dropped 7.5 per cent from $253,270 to $234,286.( \/ g6 D1 S$ h& E6 }! x
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At the end of December, there were 6,316 homes in inventory. The sales to listing ratio was 46 per cent and average days on market was 65, up two from November.: U. `$ G9 l# P6 U. l) r) W$ f
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Residential sales plunged by 29.1 per cent in December to 608. Perras blamed cold weather and global economic uncertainty.% f4 V' J6 M' _. M% G
7 Z7 |: r/ \+ Q1 c1 A. ]9 |“Who wants to tour homes when both your toes and your portfolio are frozen?” Perras said.
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Neither Perras, nor incoming president Charlie Ponde would release a resale market forecast for 2009 until a news conference scheduled for Thursday.+ O+ a W% w" r3 W+ p$ s
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But one real estate company predicted Tuesday that after months of sluggish sales and slipping prices, Edmonton’s housing will return to “a normal state” in 2009.
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/ P9 F8 }1 L1 N1 c) HThe year will bring stable average house prices and gradually increasing sales, according to the Royal LePage 2009 Market Survey Forecast.
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“The combination of healthy employment levels, historically low interest rates and good affordability — something the city has not seen in a while — will all bolster Edmonton’s housing resale market in 2009,” said the survey.# h0 U: d) }7 g: O
7 H+ Y' G# F" {: W( W* `The report predicts the average local house price to hold steady at $333,000 this year. The number of homes sold is expected to increase by three per cent to 17,825 units, it said.+ q+ d& h/ B {3 G: g! d
The company added that a glut of homes that burdened the market shrank in 2008 and will get smaller in 2009, putting Edmonton in a balanced market.) `4 Z; H2 D4 D
_5 D% R4 ]3 _: l3 r% L' F“Nationally, Canadian average house prices are forecast to dip by three per cent from last year to $295,000, while transactions are projected to fall to 416,000 (–3.5 per cent) unit sales in 2009,” the report said./ l4 i3 ?6 M: }7 U$ C
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Meanwhile, the Realtors Association of Edmonton will release a recap of the housing market this morning and a forecast of 2009 on Thursday. |
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