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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% i6 @5 M/ K1 M“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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8 C) _9 ]9 i$ J# x" k5 JThe 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.' a. Z9 X( N' [8 `6 ^
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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.
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: W" i, W3 }0 K4 m: VOver the year, condo prices dropped 7.5 per cent from $253,270 to $234,286.
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At the end of December, there were 6,316 homes in inventory. The sales to listing ratio was 46 per cent and average days on market was 65, up two from November.7 {& \: L( {2 x; O
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Residential sales plunged by 29.1 per cent in December to 608. Perras blamed cold weather and global economic uncertainty.' d) g- t# ?- U2 F8 y, b4 Q- N+ F
+ _1 e* I- P0 ?1 _# ^& N8 ]0 s“Who wants to tour homes when both your toes and your portfolio are frozen?” Perras said.8 W- C7 O8 R, p& z8 o( ~
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Neither Perras, nor incoming president Charlie Ponde would release a resale market forecast for 2009 until a news conference scheduled for Thursday.6 e% `$ t% E6 u
0 Q) D* l0 [. \# U: `0 K- ^8 wBut 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.# C- ?! T% m4 P. r, w
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The 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.
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3 u0 [( p% \; U: i S( eThe report predicts the average local house price to hold steady at $333,000 this year. The number of homes sold is expected to increase by three per cent to 17,825 units, it said.: I& T1 N# g! T; E; C* g+ c
The company added that a glut of homes that burdened the market shrank in 2008 and will get smaller in 2009, putting Edmonton in a balanced market.1 f- l$ G( e% O
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“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.
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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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