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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.5 Q2 n( @% w' D4 x3 \' N
( d- B! E, L" O% i0 _& t“That’s a 180-degree twist from what we saw in the month of November,” said outgoing association president Marc Perras.7 y8 }3 Y$ \& @9 b. O1 @4 s
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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 $30,000 less than the average price of a single family dwelling at the start of 2008.; W/ h2 W6 Z" y0 s4 T
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Condominium prices — which fell more than eight per cent in the previous two months — edged up 1.2 per cent over November.. P0 e1 ^$ P, B+ K w
% ^# F9 p7 _" P, G0 KOver the year, condo prices dropped 7.5 per cent from $253,270 to $234,286.( ?0 z+ _) y2 S, e: A
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At the end of December, there were 6,316 homes in inventory. The sales to listing ratio was 46 per cent and average days on market was 65, up two from November.& k' T% e2 s9 c7 i+ ^
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Residential sales plunged by 29.1 per cent in December to 608. Perras blamed cold weather and global economic uncertainty.) g7 j5 H, F7 A
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“Who wants to tour homes when both your toes and your portfolio are frozen?” Perras said.
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) e+ m C+ K! {! a& ]% hNeither Perras, nor incoming president Charlie Ponde would release a resale market forecast for 2009 until a news conference scheduled for Thursday.! t2 `* r+ p& _+ Y3 V$ D
) d! ? e9 |0 N8 c9 I! m4 J) iBut 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.: y. A; N P k7 T! @, x( W
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The year will bring stable average house prices and gradually increasing sales, according to the Royal LePage 2009 Market Survey Forecast.
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' }7 }3 {) B4 k }# q) ]/ E0 ^“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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* P( @& _2 A; w1 g0 y/ Z- EThe 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.
- u7 a9 c) y+ k' U7 e3 ~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.
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“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.- W( d! e8 e4 x' |8 ?
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Meanwhile, 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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