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Average price slips as fewer people moving to Alberta, realtors association says
+ |; U x6 t/ T8 a# z9 t2 `8 A. sBill Mah, The Edmonton Journal; U0 }3 f% B! z" k
Published: 1:31 am
1 l# {9 X* X( V6 S* q! f, sEDMONTON - 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.7 y A0 ^; r+ H; N$ u& P9 Q
0 Y( \1 f% m; m4 z. t1 xFigures 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.$ r, x' c' J: d' A1 G( ]
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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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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.* l. K+ d6 H" K
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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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" S$ ?- _% P u+ L H2 o 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."5 d5 \7 o n: ~
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A single-family home sold in March for an average price of $387,632, down 2.7 per cent from March last year.- V+ Q! m$ `. C) [( e* z7 @
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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. D' e, Z. p9 f% H1 u& Q
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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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8 m, r/ h! J( O# e" STotal MLS sales in March dropped 31 per cent from a record-setting pace in March 2007./ V/ V; W, `. D. }5 G
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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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j5 l' K6 E; z6 C9 n! 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 $363,707.: P- n* J7 p' J$ s
: d0 L9 F" Y3 L, I1 JThe 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.1 e* I7 Z1 v0 M8 d9 [6 W
! w, k/ M( r( E) M3 n" |+ f* b"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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; i' r2 g! P* V4 m) ~: V gAccording 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.6 x0 K; x- t2 V5 z0 j7 ^ j( O0 W1 K
+ ?" m4 D* u3 i8 I. P: }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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% v5 b ^; V# H& | y1 P5 iLeduc: 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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/ Q0 y6 E3 t% Z8 @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.& K. B9 ^" G4 u4 l6 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 $350,000.
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& j; G2 K8 j* n$ x" Z, @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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