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Average price slips as fewer people moving to Alberta, realtors association says& {4 q5 u+ j3 t( ?* Q
Bill Mah, The Edmonton Journal
5 b! [) r. `" y+ y! zPublished: 1:31 am
* a4 I# G' r( s% Q; GEDMONTON - 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.4 g+ Y1 d7 k9 s2 b
$ z$ _$ {/ ]- G( O/ F( ZFigures 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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. p$ T( q( z, ^% j9 j) ZAssociation president Marc Perras said the inventory, about six month's worth, stems largely from fewer people moving to Alberta.4 R P, F# V& g; [6 W& Z0 h$ H
4 _3 e$ S' J( _$ ?- uNet 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.
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# T* B( V" e0 ] o C# O% V1 ~"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.) r) r" p$ @( v- t
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He predicted home prices will increase by the year's end as inventory drops and called the current situation a "stable, normal" market.
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3 j/ o' X# h. \5 R1 U5 \0 e8 U& j"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.") M e( G' M5 @, P% n& ]
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A 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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But the average residential price -- including single-family homes, condos, duplexes, mobile homes and others -- was $343,760, 5.66 per cent higher than March 2007.$ X0 a9 a# N" b+ i! \: f4 f* Z2 S
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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.
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! V. @- Q( a4 N8 I( H fTotal MLS sales in March dropped 31 per cent from a record-setting pace in March 2007.: a; `- s. v. b$ I2 T! K- Y
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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.
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6 M2 {- V9 P+ Z; f5 o$ ~The 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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U8 N/ }3 f3 x( V& A/ x! zThe 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.' |5 _ k2 h8 j, M
1 c7 a7 K- n* c! Z+ f2 tKen Shearer, a Royal LePage broker and owner, said debate over energy royalties kept house prices lower.' m) x' A3 n/ Z, S; a
5 n/ F7 D; x! h3 d5 `) l; Z"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.- a* N2 A2 W8 p6 n- S1 H
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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.4 e+ X3 h0 g6 o% e1 I
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Spruce Grove: A two-storey home rose 6.9 per cent to $405,000 year-over-year.$ S; Z0 d; X1 H" b& j
+ g/ P# u$ J6 O: @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., T8 n7 ^+ J: L d" a M
" N U% b3 N. K/ K# P( y, r# rLeduc: 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.)
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St. 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.2 N# h. O/ ~' n! \/ i }2 i8 b
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 $350,000.8 c) l) Q+ K5 y; z X( @
) w& f; N8 z4 WClareview: 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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