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Average price slips as fewer people moving to Alberta, realtors association says
& L8 [+ K$ @1 e+ HBill Mah, The Edmonton Journal' z( Q% r5 P; |$ Z+ i
Published: 1:31 am
) i# l, b3 I- Z; y% J3 p; _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.8 l: q: O `6 m9 n
1 V6 V3 ]" T7 f, D' G' `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.7 _! D# ~( {2 ^- P: B+ a
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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.
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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.$ E) T7 q. q. Q: c; ]
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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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$ q0 o; N4 v0 U; gHe 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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"Our sales volumes are similar to what we saw in 2004 and 2005 and our prices are essentially flat.
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, M8 I8 o/ |- B! K"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."4 S9 V7 | T. x9 `+ y' t9 A
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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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" V! z, P1 Z& d- h4 l" ~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.. t3 c: m- {) j
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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.# I @, m6 t# F* h9 {
: C1 W4 f3 {3 P# q* W, aTotal 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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8 m- D; d1 }! g1 D* mThe 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.6 x6 Z% p- {, ]+ O4 K/ P& h
, Y- o `, ?2 C( ?7 F' W' YKen 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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According to the report, prices varied by specific market in the Edmonton region. Here are some highlights:* |6 s- M- @( E' I
% z) @9 S+ _: _6 ?6 @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.+ i; O1 s" Z [! d7 F- ]2 g
2 a/ K* E% R; j! L# `# FSpruce Grove: A two-storey home rose 6.9 per cent to $405,000 year-over-year.# \' d, t C2 \, _
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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.# n) z5 B0 X/ r8 o
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Leduc: 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 ($310,000.)- q8 y, p( V3 y: ]6 a6 c
- T: T: |4 P1 }0 b$ {5 N) aSt. 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.
+ J. Z" y! O, |( _5 [8 SCastle 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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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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