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Thu, April 12, 2007% y! A3 f7 e3 y, T+ M) s- O
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Calgary ranks sixth as most expensive downtown housing
* j9 e" b- S8 n) N: P1 S* KUPDATED: 2007-04-12 16:38:42 MST% s% h# P! P, f. S8 K
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More and more Calgarians are buying downtown homes but paying top price for the prime location. + p. T5 H- w# {+ m W1 D
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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. / x5 ~: K' c9 |
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Calgary ranks sixth most expensive of 31 cities surveyed around the world. : A' E' a+ J5 w1 r J& l% d
2 A3 X0 l R: M3 l8 SThe 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.
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“To live downtown people pay for it.”
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4 l2 Z( j7 M, ?A condo in southwood for instance would run about $323 a sq. ft while downtown goes for about $500. " L- m. W1 b, M5 r' R0 ~6 ]6 Q
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5 D* a V- A$ D7 sStill 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.”
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Part of the attraction is affordability but also people wanting to buy in to a certain lifestyle, Bamber said. ' a6 a( K) Z- _( j, E. S
! c2 q4 e" r( U8 E* `“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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. o8 }: T! _( T- A7 i$ x: }/ E5 JHe said 30 % of the housing market is condos - the bulk of which are in downtown. 1 t8 ?2 B8 ^! ^; V2 ~
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The survey showed Vancouver placing fourth most expensive at $577 per sq. ft. while Edmonton was 10th most expensive at $322. 4 S$ o3 w. v# Y% ^+ h6 w' ]
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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. 5 F E, B! O& C+ g! d1 K
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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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A 650 sq. ft condo in Southwood, Bamber said, recently sold for about $323 per square foot, for instance. 2 K0 }! ?# t/ v0 d$ b0 ?
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- b1 ]$ \8 l7 Z. Z- 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.
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8 J* m+ }- I9 \8 n— 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
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& y. \8 D7 f3 g" t3 {" C' j8 fThe 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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