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Average price slips as fewer people moving to Alberta, realtors association says& X( C8 r8 h) o1 `7 o! o
Bill Mah, The Edmonton Journal
2 S& i. j/ s# m: F, SPublished: 1:31 am; a- o/ g+ B6 s8 a2 ]9 t: L6 x2 T
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.) T7 a# Q$ \% K( p7 g4 O, h8 i& s
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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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9 ~4 I n% _1 L, ]9 L+ XThat'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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2 z5 ~& [- p" D2 a; A8 r- s6 x0 r0 VAssociation president Marc Perras said the inventory, about six month's worth, stems largely from fewer people moving to Alberta.6 t& Q* q! H# g4 \
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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.& `4 d& y! J, g0 o8 L
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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.
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5 F: R0 M$ P3 H! [" K% JHe predicted home prices will increase by the year's end as inventory drops and called the current situation a "stable, normal" market.3 P, p: i _, x. T( G, R
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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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"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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1 A. R$ Z6 B& W' a- H _" AA single-family home sold in March for an average price of $387,632, down 2.7 per cent from March last year.6 l7 x; X: @4 O5 n
" E; }6 A* n5 V3 Y4 j `+ gBut 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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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.# f+ i! Y( ~/ \6 x7 K/ f4 K0 N
3 f9 Q l; B# \- Z" ?Total MLS sales in March dropped 31 per cent from a record-setting pace in March 2007.
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# r k5 _: I- G+ k* H" B9 HMeanwhile, 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.
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' Y7 R6 P9 M0 BThe 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 k% m' {) x6 Z' h6 m+ z& J
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Ken Shearer, a Royal LePage broker and owner, said debate over energy royalties kept house prices lower.
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% U1 C0 P: @7 {3 m"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.- ~. }8 d, f, P
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According to the report, prices varied by specific market in the Edmonton region. Here are some highlights:
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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.
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Spruce 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.
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" Q+ B# E3 S% h2 j U5 xLeduc: 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 ($310,000.)1 l. V k( ^0 G' F3 l
0 V3 @+ ~* W5 s" X. D# n" J. i- K$ YSt. 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.9 U: j! o8 u) A; A+ _
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 $350,000.( n1 q R0 a7 s1 K7 Z- K J$ M
; c l9 u; O3 t2 T8 p7 t1 t. MClareview: 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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