 鲜花( 7)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
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.
% h$ u/ r# f) o; _+ t; W& H) W8 o9 [' |) U
“That’s a 180-degree twist from what we saw in the month of November,” said outgoing association president Marc Perras." H) U- \& g9 m3 x2 g! ?
- a) h% I5 K) e$ f
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.
. G o/ t/ `, ]/ c( e
" I" Y4 D2 P6 JCondominium prices — which fell more than eight per cent in the previous two months — edged up 1.2 per cent over November.
+ s0 V" \9 j" d1 e( q8 G* B- @. w5 m
Over the year, condo prices dropped 7.5 per cent from $253,270 to $234,286.
! V3 f+ M0 q/ t. M& R3 l E: w3 N# L ]& e' A. f
At the end of December, there were 6,316 homes in inventory. The sales to listing ratio was 46 per cent and average days on market was 65, up two from November.
. O2 \8 I4 r& y. ?& k& G6 Y7 [$ J0 u, t
Residential sales plunged by 29.1 per cent in December to 608. Perras blamed cold weather and global economic uncertainty." k* o% x' h) x4 f" g+ ]# C
1 p2 g4 \" v8 U. _/ i% n N# O“Who wants to tour homes when both your toes and your portfolio are frozen?” Perras said.
, X4 Q$ x8 a" J' ] x" [) d' e0 |' r/ d
Neither Perras, nor incoming president Charlie Ponde would release a resale market forecast for 2009 until a news conference scheduled for Thursday.
e0 l. \# c3 v3 [* d2 q/ `0 F* h4 B I" C. W
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.
. `+ C- S, x7 g2 v2 c' k j
X! H* |' P: T- j* s. `7 {8 SThe year will bring stable average house prices and gradually increasing sales, according to the Royal LePage 2009 Market Survey Forecast.
* @$ r) D$ M, n: d7 M, s, ~$ T, J1 r: h5 S
“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.2 ]$ z0 n8 m/ W2 }
8 p2 B9 O! }# {# H8 O
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.
( o7 s8 u! }8 s6 e9 eThe 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.: C. Y( s* \! ]& U9 S
8 K% h& a2 P* a i“Nationally, Canadian average house prices are forecast to dip by three per cent from last year to $295,000, while transactions are projected to fall to 416,000 (–3.5 per cent) unit sales in 2009,” the report said.
3 c! D* F4 E/ [; g, s
2 }! R* x# q# }; x$ D" mMeanwhile, the Realtors Association of Edmonton will release a recap of the housing market this morning and a forecast of 2009 on Thursday. |
|