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EDMONTON — Prices for single-family homes in the Edmonton region dropped while condo prices rallied in December, according to figures released today by the Realtors Association of Edmonton.
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“That’s a 180-degree twist from what we saw in the month of November,” said outgoing association president Marc Perras. p5 ^ t L7 f; W6 T$ ~& H
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The average price for a single family home dropped by three per cent to $351,870 after remaining flat for two months. That’s $30,000 less than the average price of a single family dwelling at the start of 2008.* m- K) K' V6 I$ v z& F& o! S6 a
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Condominium prices — which fell more than eight per cent in the previous two months — edged up 1.2 per cent over November.4 e* I( z) ~( n! | K# i
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Over the year, condo prices dropped 7.5 per cent from $253,270 to $234,286. Y# P$ N* [" C8 K# \5 ]7 I
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At the end of December, there were 6,316 homes in inventory. The sales to listing ratio was 46 per cent and average days on market was 65, up two from November.
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6 [1 z! M+ c; u" A* ~Residential sales plunged by 29.1 per cent in December to 608. Perras blamed cold weather and global economic uncertainty.5 s) i. _5 t: Q
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“Who wants to tour homes when both your toes and your portfolio are frozen?” Perras said.
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/ \" u+ W$ }/ t6 yNeither Perras, nor incoming president Charlie Ponde would release a resale market forecast for 2009 until a news conference scheduled for Thursday./ a# z% \! j8 o6 d
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But one real estate company predicted Tuesday that after months of sluggish sales and slipping prices, Edmonton’s housing will return to “a normal state” in 2009./ ?3 Z) _! ]1 ~7 ]( i: Q$ `+ u
6 S1 }1 r# }, ^The year will bring stable average house prices and gradually increasing sales, according to the Royal LePage 2009 Market Survey Forecast.! P+ n! ^+ G ^9 J0 e$ z* H/ A: p
; S" E7 J4 j& ^( A; T; m* t# X“The combination of healthy employment levels, historically low interest rates and good affordability — something the city has not seen in a while — will all bolster Edmonton’s housing resale market in 2009,” said the survey.
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The report predicts the average local house price to hold steady at $333,000 this year. The number of homes sold is expected to increase by three per cent to 17,825 units, it said.; R& j% G* W2 J$ _- L- A* B
The company added that a glut of homes that burdened the market shrank in 2008 and will get smaller in 2009, putting Edmonton in a balanced market.* S T. l' W' r: l7 ~
) [0 m5 B9 K6 Z* \% M! ?3 p, D“Nationally, Canadian average house prices are forecast to dip by three per cent from last year to $295,000, while transactions are projected to fall to 416,000 (–3.5 per cent) unit sales in 2009,” the report said.
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7 M& b: G" Z/ l8 c0 q+ T( aMeanwhile, the Realtors Association of Edmonton will release a recap of the housing market this morning and a forecast of 2009 on Thursday. |
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