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Thu, April 12, 2007
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8 _. K6 Q# `8 \- E: kCalgary ranks sixth as most expensive downtown housing
3 b/ _) [5 S( W) d. kUPDATED: 2007-04-12 16:38:42 MST
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7 n/ n% i$ I* N6 UMore and more Calgarians are buying downtown homes but paying top price for the prime location. , c; V* Y" U, s7 |2 |& Z1 Y
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People who live in downtown business districts in Canada’s largest cities generally pay less per-square foot than people in cities around the world and enjoy shorter daily commutes to work, according to a recent survey done on first-time home buyers by CENTURY 21.
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2 c' j1 Q6 `8 V% Y. ~6 x2 v& [Calgary ranks sixth most expensive of 31 cities surveyed around the world.
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6 |8 k0 z* A- p0 O2 cThe cost to buy in Calgary’s downtown is even more than settling in Toronto’s core which ranked 16th in the survey with the average cost running $209 per sq. ft. , V, S' y. O! B7 R4 j) o# C. \
: b9 _6 }( S; W( I( {: u( X5 }: IGeorge Bamber, owner of a Calgary-based Century 21 said it’s a sign of a city maturing and becoming more like Vancouver or Toronto where downtown is a place where people live and work.“You just get more real estate for your money outside of downtown,” he said. J; [( E3 Z T& v' F4 n
: E8 A7 }7 J8 m$ f J! K- }“To live downtown people pay for it.” . v4 K; C# ?% Q, J
) g& z) i" Z6 }# F5 XA condo in southwood for instance would run about $323 a sq. ft while downtown goes for about $500.
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Still Bamber said the interest in downtown living only seems to be getting more popular — a sign Calgary is “getting to be more like a big city.”
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Part of the attraction is affordability but also people wanting to buy in to a certain lifestyle, Bamber said. . l) V2 A$ M- P5 ^$ c; @, n
, C7 {' \" `) v4 V“People want to be close to restaurants and bars and don’t want to drive an hour to work,” he said. / w; ^( h8 s; M0 K0 z! L& w! u
, N' W2 q" X# g2 l0 |+ N" BHe said 30 % of the housing market is condos - the bulk of which are in downtown.
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9 M9 R, H3 U0 c8 P* T# sThe survey showed Vancouver placing fourth most expensive at $577 per sq. ft. while Edmonton was 10th most expensive at $322. 5 H8 m, R$ z3 Z1 P( n o# k
! Y4 Q2 j7 Y; `, k4 k5 M6 eIn Calgary, a typical first-time buyer would choose a one-bedroom, one-bath 500-sq. ft. apartment in Mission or Connaught priced at about $250,000 and a 10-minute drive or 20-minute walk to the downtown business core and the Calgary Tower. : ^1 K9 A, B- S* L+ l
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While those looking for life in the suburbs and a better bang for their buck typically see a significant cost savings.
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~# u! H- C V# f* ]/ FA 650 sq. ft condo in Southwood, Bamber said, recently sold for about $323 per square foot, for instance.
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- St. John’s and Quebec City had the lowest and second-lowest per-square-foot downtown prices of all 31 cities surveyed, at $55 and $93 respectively.— The two lowest per-square-foot prices for international cities were Istanbul, Turkey and Sydney, Australia, at $94 and $105 respectively. . G5 d( u2 {" {4 F/ ~5 {8 W/ G3 M" o7 A
0 n7 L+ r9 X+ V4 m" F2 n' y— Vancouver was fourth most expensive at $577 per square foot while Calgary was sixth most expensive at $500 and Edmonton was 10th most expensive at $322 — Globally Paris was the most expensive at $1,051 per square foot while London was fifth most expensive at $532 and New York was eighth most expensive at $375 The 10 least expensive downtown housing markets as ranked per-square-foot for first-time buyers are; St. John’s $55 Quebec City $93 Istanbul $94 Halifax $97 Charlottetown $104 Sydney, Australia $105 Bogota $114 Mexico City $119 v, s: ?$ N4 j2 j& @; ] z7 v
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The 10 most expensive downtown housing markets; Paris $1051 Moscow $688 Seol $630 Vancouver $577 London, England $532 Calgary $500 Athens $375 New York City $375 Tokyo, $325 Edmonton $322. |
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