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Average price slips as fewer people moving to Alberta, realtors association says
+ c8 n0 L0 w5 ^$ Q- w7 ZBill Mah, The Edmonton Journal
; K5 E- g K* h2 u$ dPublished: 1:31 am
7 E$ P. `9 V* a$ u0 p( M- E9 wEDMONTON - 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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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.
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That'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.
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" T/ y m: S8 N6 Q7 a" l6 wNet 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., x6 W4 f7 |9 G( u3 b5 @" y
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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.( @4 i) r. j5 R. v$ T
$ Z$ F4 U' Z+ ~2 Q# C2 w' yHe predicted home prices will increase by the year's end as inventory drops and called the current situation a "stable, normal" market.% W7 a0 k- ^; n; }, N7 z
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"Our sales volumes are similar to what we saw in 2004 and 2005 and our prices are essentially flat.
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8 \* E0 z9 s j"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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- _& E8 Q" c% Y& uA single-family home sold in March for an average price of $387,632, down 2.7 per cent from March last year.
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- [( H1 n0 n" [( s. l. W) wBut the average residential price -- including single-family homes, condos, duplexes, mobile homes and others -- was $343,760, 5.66 per cent higher than March 2007.
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Z: f" W% A% M& Y# H$ _5 y+ _There 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.
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2 T5 N$ E6 d# C" `: @8 S9 QTotal MLS sales in March dropped 31 per cent from a record-setting pace in March 2007.
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Meanwhile, 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.# | d( k6 L( v$ Z
, ~0 s9 I# |6 n, wThe 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.% l! y; @* p! p8 h0 Q3 X7 D
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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.
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6 T" z9 z+ l2 o& D3 fKen Shearer, a Royal LePage broker and owner, said debate over energy royalties kept house prices lower.* d0 t( W) M2 @8 I5 ~' P
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"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." O+ f) k5 k# E! B
; ?4 [5 b( L/ w ]' t: A `According to the report, prices varied by specific market in the Edmonton region. Here are some highlights:2 J: d9 W; B2 c% C h6 }6 |
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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.4 V4 S7 p. ~6 {
, e. k7 f7 Y0 `, g9 e( Q1 rSpruce Grove: A two-storey home rose 6.9 per cent to $405,000 year-over-year.
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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 $235,000.3 a' M1 G' K, X
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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.)% W( |1 B3 P0 Y8 M# V, H( @
; ~1 a N& h4 QSt. 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.* j% A* L* |1 E7 S/ x
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 $350,000.
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3 o( H: b$ L) sClareview: 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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