 鲜花( 17)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Average price slips as fewer people moving to Alberta, realtors association says: J5 `4 p! I" B8 x( D
Bill Mah, The Edmonton Journal
( H: X2 r+ X) Z2 a; S# ^' dPublished: 1:31 am1 |, {8 n6 c y$ x' L
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.# b q. N& z4 Y& L1 ]% Y& N
. o2 O/ L: r/ Q& w% m* H! _' b
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.- \% I$ Y6 m. o1 |) C7 S
4 N* m3 A* B1 s
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+ \# d4 b" H% q1 `/ t3 w( P* R: ?' {. ]1 h" n
( a$ T: [* y: ^5 S: d$ n2 \2 R
Association president Marc Perras said the inventory, about six month's worth, stems largely from fewer people moving to Alberta.( y/ Z# y9 H9 g2 M* a
- o# n: w: u& r3 @/ w7 b5 E0 @. V/ h
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.' ?+ V# P4 u" a# K3 _( U
0 c4 l3 k$ L$ s& c: ^ b: @
"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.
( ^. p) d/ ^, x9 }1 w; C. O7 B
}% {$ z% M8 Q( p( u1 g& z: QHe predicted home prices will increase by the year's end as inventory drops and called the current situation a "stable, normal" market.
" D9 j% m2 u& ]/ T) k( W( L2 [* T0 S5 D- p6 {
"Our sales volumes are similar to what we saw in 2004 and 2005 and our prices are essentially flat.
; u0 }) E1 {+ w' c6 ~; A
3 R$ s& {( J) M# 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."
D) D: P8 a6 n" d! A/ C# L2 p1 j# E, b: g, ?
A single-family home sold in March for an average price of $387,632, down 2.7 per cent from March last year.8 P. K1 [5 x. `; U R
# n* o' o4 t# ~2 j) eBut the average residential price -- including single-family homes, condos, duplexes, mobile homes and others -- was $343,760, 5.66 per cent higher than March 2007.
. ^" i! P' _& J( O" P' ]3 h
( y% T5 R. j' CThere were 1,557 residential properties sold in March with new listings of 4,236 for a sales-to-listing ratio of 37 per cent. Homes spent 51 days on the market, down one day from last month.
( ?7 m, i0 C ~ v2 }
) a+ M$ U8 W4 |3 ]* W) A. Y+ CTotal MLS sales in March dropped 31 per cent from a record-setting pace in March 2007.8 ?; s# A* W2 W
$ S I. j1 M+ p9 A
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.* ]% V6 {# j# k9 V* Z' m) l' T6 U
$ R: O- i5 c: V9 g
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 $363,707.9 y$ c6 e* Z' T* b$ Y( c
* d( N( H0 s# J/ n; i
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 $235,000, said the LePage study.
7 @0 q) n! [& F
; t# A6 E6 P" w: M8 R5 Z, x# G' IKen Shearer, a Royal LePage broker and owner, said debate over energy royalties kept house prices lower.% y+ c/ m3 o' v* G4 R1 z% G, L
" ?3 W1 x, @1 T6 ^) V- Y"As a result of this debate, the market has receded from the wild pace it experienced last year as buyers are simply no longer interested in paying skyrocketing house prices," he said.6 ]$ k+ B4 H w
& O! J% M3 d5 ]+ G2 R
According to the report, prices varied by specific market in the Edmonton region. Here are some highlights:
5 U: u) c [6 z* {* y' @! _5 [6 e( @
Sherwood Park: Average prices for two-storey homes dropped by 7.1 per cent to $390,000, while detached bungalows and condos were unchanged from last year.& s1 ?# p5 R% Y1 [ \, G
2 a' n) D: F( @$ y7 ?: C6 @
Spruce Grove: A two-storey home rose 6.9 per cent to $405,000 year-over-year.: a1 {) x; X& c0 F& U
, C O6 G5 u. J1 |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.
6 g- y- K2 [( W& N4 D G/ {1 s2 w9 q: c! @4 W3 x9 b
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.)
* z8 B) o9 \1 D! n, G
" q" Y3 X7 Z' H# KSt. Albert: The average price of a two-storey home fell by 12.8 per cent to $340,000 while detached bungalows dropped by 12.3 per cent and condos by 13.3 per cent.
/ P! K" L$ e3 S4 e( k- g( Y, t1 ICastle 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.
, f, B. Z i- C0 |' X
& S, f0 r" O6 V+ XClareview: 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. |
|