 鲜花( 17)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Average price slips as fewer people moving to Alberta, realtors association says* F; t* A" z5 K/ j
Bill Mah, The Edmonton Journal/ d$ `- C& H: |2 k9 G- n! u
Published: 1:31 am
; l" m( i4 c4 M4 |9 I/ cEDMONTON - 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.
, z6 T* m5 \7 Y
/ d% ~' z& T0 Y9 k: ~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.
% `. r* _& `& D/ ]/ j( Z& j
8 W/ {) |8 i# m9 {5 h- E0 AThat'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.
1 U y! X3 E' r& W9 l( m8 C2 z' z0 \" X- G
; B9 N5 Q$ ~' {; ]& LAssociation president Marc Perras said the inventory, about six month's worth, stems largely from fewer people moving to Alberta.
' h4 \4 S3 r# K
7 c: w1 j$ A3 I0 b9 b1 `+ j) MNet 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.
' \; T, E ?, R+ u* u
. [# I$ C9 w0 U- J' ?# T"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.7 P7 e& @) M- T% I. g4 D$ A
2 h6 Q2 }5 g9 I; C3 M
He predicted home prices will increase by the year's end as inventory drops and called the current situation a "stable, normal" market.
4 y5 J& W% w7 A9 J I v8 g( }" n6 `& m. @# Y
"Our sales volumes are similar to what we saw in 2004 and 2005 and our prices are essentially flat.3 t f9 K+ T4 u" x# |' _# @
& ]) g" P; Q5 m& Z8 }( l( Q0 O* U"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."% z) T/ X. ~; r
+ ^; a ?) Y. j+ j' `A single-family home sold in March for an average price of $387,632, down 2.7 per cent from March last year.
5 T- q. k# q; H9 R6 H
5 ?- d4 b1 s; A# b. T* L0 RBut the average residential price -- including single-family homes, condos, duplexes, mobile homes and others -- was $343,760, 5.66 per cent higher than March 2007.6 |0 z. `. U' L
; A$ a0 z0 B& d" 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.
' S; `1 b5 q* @. d
+ n* y1 n g- Q& XTotal MLS sales in March dropped 31 per cent from a record-setting pace in March 2007.' J4 Y1 {) H. F9 [
+ g6 v* | A- O6 kMeanwhile, 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.* S4 w1 w" g- m. G- j! S. N+ z
! X6 `+ r* X d0 E; W) Y
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 $363,707.. Z- W* J' x2 `& U$ `
) X6 b$ A' O4 R4 [
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 $235,000, said the LePage study. k8 A, y/ a) P: b4 k! c
" s$ U3 v( P4 C; n- cKen Shearer, a Royal LePage broker and owner, said debate over energy royalties kept house prices lower.$ N% h/ P( y" `' _5 `9 M% \
+ y; Q T: s4 r
"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.1 e- Q% j& e+ X: \$ z. p
! m* T9 W9 |2 p; D; B1 b6 ?
According to the report, prices varied by specific market in the Edmonton region. Here are some highlights:3 s: z6 g' R( l% v( J% `* I( G$ C
7 \- q8 I4 F% W" t w# m9 N) k/ C
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.+ g& Z* W) S0 N9 k) @0 [2 A! l9 O+ }
+ X n% Y4 G4 H. o5 F. [
Spruce Grove: A two-storey home rose 6.9 per cent to $405,000 year-over-year.0 p: Y1 V9 M/ R! p- t
2 [5 v/ ]/ l3 w( [& w& }5 ^8 m
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 $235,000. A5 y8 S1 n2 b7 u- w4 j1 E
; `4 U+ O+ J% c/ c$ i
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 ($310,000.)7 C# {/ p$ ^0 K8 k4 t. h, j& L j
; w& g/ n C; ^" n6 q& H5 MSt. 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.
# t5 t; ~: D4 }- I PCastle Downs: Average detached bungalows fell by 18.6 per cent to $285,000. Average two-storey homes went down 11.4 per cent to $350,000.
; t6 o! n% K* I$ H$ L9 K5 J! i* K
6 G0 R6 C' U! N' a) } u. r. QClareview: 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. |
|