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Thu, April 12, 2007/ }" H0 B( @+ p( A1 @
O0 b7 l" A. }# CCalgary ranks sixth as most expensive downtown housing
7 ^: h6 R8 Y" L# tUPDATED: 2007-04-12 16:38:42 MST$ t) ~* A+ \; ^
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2 M4 s; h$ F5 f1 e8 C% N0 ~By NADIA MOHARIB, SUN MEDIA
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More and more Calgarians are buying downtown homes but paying top price for the prime location.
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People who live in downtown business districts in Canada’s largest cities generally pay less per-square foot than people in cities around the world and enjoy shorter daily commutes to work, according to a recent survey done on first-time home buyers by CENTURY 21.
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( k2 F5 u% z n1 {* L/ u, A* Y* x7 H( eCalgary ranks sixth most expensive of 31 cities surveyed around the world. % v# Z! w% g' _7 r- u
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The cost to buy in Calgary’s downtown is even more than settling in Toronto’s core which ranked 16th in the survey with the average cost running $209 per sq. ft.
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George Bamber, owner of a Calgary-based Century 21 said it’s a sign of a city maturing and becoming more like Vancouver or Toronto where downtown is a place where people live and work.“You just get more real estate for your money outside of downtown,” he said. . C5 A: Y( e. i+ X$ q+ t) d) F- j9 R6 V
3 J- C$ y8 Q& I7 L“To live downtown people pay for it.” 1 N# ]: U+ H1 ^- i$ h
8 Q& {. Q6 o6 e1 gA condo in southwood for instance would run about $323 a sq. ft while downtown goes for about $500. ! z) s g1 ?- ^
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Still Bamber said the interest in downtown living only seems to be getting more popular — a sign Calgary is “getting to be more like a big city.” / b! g6 V% i, ]& U& Q+ B }: [3 b
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Part of the attraction is affordability but also people wanting to buy in to a certain lifestyle, Bamber said.
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6 Z3 ? h* Q/ C6 a+ H5 j2 J8 L“People want to be close to restaurants and bars and don’t want to drive an hour to work,” he said.
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* m8 c; E, \4 JHe said 30 % of the housing market is condos - the bulk of which are in downtown. 1 y5 Z/ C6 ^% p' q5 R* W$ y, s+ J! e1 O
3 D0 D1 U7 K& L+ fThe survey showed Vancouver placing fourth most expensive at $577 per sq. ft. while Edmonton was 10th most expensive at $322.
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In Calgary, a typical first-time buyer would choose a one-bedroom, one-bath 500-sq. ft. apartment in Mission or Connaught priced at about $250,000 and a 10-minute drive or 20-minute walk to the downtown business core and the Calgary Tower. % ?3 O; q7 \! w; S# j! U8 E. P2 c
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While those looking for life in the suburbs and a better bang for their buck typically see a significant cost savings.
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& N* N5 [6 B3 s1 M2 i* [. z% yA 650 sq. ft condo in Southwood, Bamber said, recently sold for about $323 per square foot, for instance. ; k% A" d. A6 y2 _+ |
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! U+ C! s- Z! Q- St. John’s and Quebec City had the lowest and second-lowest per-square-foot downtown prices of all 31 cities surveyed, at $55 and $93 respectively.— The two lowest per-square-foot prices for international cities were Istanbul, Turkey and Sydney, Australia, at $94 and $105 respectively. 2 p! X% U. Z" K, _9 R+ h6 {
V& r: ^ [+ m8 ^9 d— Vancouver was fourth most expensive at $577 per square foot while Calgary was sixth most expensive at $500 and Edmonton was 10th most expensive at $322 — Globally Paris was the most expensive at $1,051 per square foot while London was fifth most expensive at $532 and New York was eighth most expensive at $375 The 10 least expensive downtown housing markets as ranked per-square-foot for first-time buyers are; St. John’s $55 Quebec City $93 Istanbul $94 Halifax $97 Charlottetown $104 Sydney, Australia $105 Bogota $114 Mexico City $119 ' @* v6 e8 ` i& E
6 m y" l; y5 ?* D: Z: LThe 10 most expensive downtown housing markets; Paris $1051 Moscow $688 Seol $630 Vancouver $577 London, England $532 Calgary $500 Athens $375 New York City $375 Tokyo, $325 Edmonton $322. |
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