 鲜花( 7)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
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.5 K! X% A& D( o5 b8 {3 \% w
6 B/ S" X7 b% [, I# b“That’s a 180-degree twist from what we saw in the month of November,” said outgoing association president Marc Perras.
# V, Q; `2 C4 u5 F: A1 h
% X& a- y" p+ pThe average price for a single family home dropped by three per cent to $351,870 after remaining flat for two months. That’s $30,000 less than the average price of a single family dwelling at the start of 2008.
' a2 y$ r0 I* N$ q+ C& s$ V( F5 S6 Z0 r$ y. Q& b
Condominium prices — which fell more than eight per cent in the previous two months — edged up 1.2 per cent over November.' y2 w- s2 u- l z( X& N! A
' O. t0 C: \* A" Z0 B( K/ P' t8 M
Over the year, condo prices dropped 7.5 per cent from $253,270 to $234,286.
( F: \" h- s) n2 o& Q. U, s/ r" a1 V9 F5 a* Q) A, m
At the end of December, there were 6,316 homes in inventory. The sales to listing ratio was 46 per cent and average days on market was 65, up two from November.
1 l; G$ o* M) d! O
: U) q! ]' S r, qResidential sales plunged by 29.1 per cent in December to 608. Perras blamed cold weather and global economic uncertainty.
! ~( p' O& Z/ ?3 x* A. r! w% V# D
d b& F8 R: s1 M2 Y“Who wants to tour homes when both your toes and your portfolio are frozen?” Perras said.
% Y& K4 d2 g; ?- U0 h: P
' u c. B6 z/ }5 uNeither Perras, nor incoming president Charlie Ponde would release a resale market forecast for 2009 until a news conference scheduled for Thursday.
, b5 r0 n4 V; i- y/ o
5 k# b6 `( J6 U+ t( mBut 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 2009.3 \1 n- ^# `, z
: s+ _. }! r s8 m# n6 ?4 @* d
The year will bring stable average house prices and gradually increasing sales, according to the Royal LePage 2009 Market Survey Forecast.
" z5 c& p8 h9 c3 u+ U% \2 T) a2 z( [2 t( L' O# H
“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.
4 Q! k6 g/ _$ X0 e
+ X% r2 s. e! }2 m( P* g7 }. W4 zThe 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.
' o6 x8 H% ]6 o( x4 \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.
- [! W- q* o+ A- B. w! P
- |7 \4 e9 W& X# v3 k! e8 ^“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.
) |) G* c& Y9 f- ?8 u( U r% c% O7 t! }
Meanwhile, the Realtors Association of Edmonton will release a recap of the housing market this morning and a forecast of 2009 on Thursday. |
|