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Average price slips as fewer people moving to Alberta, realtors association says' n' w( M9 R6 P6 _
Bill Mah, The Edmonton Journal H/ z9 [" U; Z2 M7 b
Published: 1:31 am
% P# b) t1 w0 W+ P1 ZEDMONTON - 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.# \# U o2 ?% l" N
1 l! l- {6 K# X: a: C; K8 VFigures 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.5 a$ h; L* E- W
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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.
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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 q4 ?1 Y6 s& |! B
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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." L: z+ m8 V) F9 [
, X2 ^- G2 }/ I4 k V"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."; \$ @" v9 d) @4 z& N
" B1 Z8 `2 B* f( SA single-family home sold in March for an average price of $387,632, down 2.7 per cent from March last year., O, Y( `5 C% n4 ?) I2 p/ G
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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.# @1 P2 l' Z4 @7 x6 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.. U2 E( u* q, A/ f: V! ]
5 |: I. L' G/ r% gTotal 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.
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9 {6 p/ R0 h8 ?# AThe 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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) v) h6 E2 z( \+ n3 i9 v0 b, dThe 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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Ken Shearer, a Royal LePage broker and owner, said debate over energy royalties kept house prices lower.
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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.
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7 n( O* y& [3 F+ S3 L8 }# kAccording to the report, prices varied by specific market in the Edmonton region. Here are some highlights:9 J0 c7 n% H9 _
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Sherwood Park: Average prices for two-storey homes dropped by 7.1 per cent to $390,000, while detached bungalows and condos were unchanged from last year." N7 W5 m1 ?' j" A& Z4 ^1 ~5 N6 O$ D6 a
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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.( F7 i# D% i8 u0 @/ U ^" |3 W
- C5 A; ?- _. b; y! m4 t) dLeduc: 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.)" F5 |( V# N7 n: P
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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.
c: L/ K6 b) A8 tCastle 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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+ T3 ?- p) i+ _% b {! ~Clareview: 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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