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Thu, April 12, 2007
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4 G" s' e& d: Q& F0 W7 \1 A6 aCalgary ranks sixth as most expensive downtown housing3 c f* X- f) w
UPDATED: 2007-04-12 16:38:42 MST/ F: @7 M9 J$ V0 q6 s
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By NADIA MOHARIB, SUN MEDIA. o% o! L% B" Y, o& K7 J
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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. 2 Q$ B" Z& t9 l2 A( t: {6 U
p- c+ h$ C n$ P- MCalgary ranks sixth most expensive of 31 cities surveyed around the world. ; h W2 O; n3 M" G+ s
! \2 n5 n6 K! ]& tThe 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 $209 per sq. ft. * h5 o, O4 I" e: h1 Y: E
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George Bamber, owner of a Calgary-based Century 21 said it’s a sign of a city maturing and becoming more like Vancouver or Toronto where downtown is a place where people live and work.“You just get more real estate for your money outside of downtown,” he said.
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' O$ ?. e. P; b“To live downtown people pay for it.”
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A condo in southwood for instance would run about $323 a sq. ft while downtown goes for about $500.
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/ X+ _/ B3 i9 b+ R4 ^Still Bamber said the interest in downtown living only seems to be getting more popular — a sign Calgary is “getting to be more like a big city.” / g. ~2 N6 Q4 K" c6 n& W
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Part of the attraction is affordability but also people wanting to buy in to a certain lifestyle, Bamber said.
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; V+ I+ Q4 k3 N% d$ V“People want to be close to restaurants and bars and don’t want to drive an hour to work,” he said. 0 q+ t8 y' h# ~
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He said 30 % of the housing market is condos - the bulk of which are in downtown.
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7 k& d9 x! @0 M$ Y# KThe 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 $250,000 and a 10-minute drive or 20-minute walk to the downtown business core and the Calgary Tower. . l5 L' K( ]9 y! O) Q7 u$ C5 b+ [' f
7 d( V* _ W) z8 f1 XWhile those looking for life in the suburbs and a better bang for their buck typically see a significant cost savings. % K" O% l- y: h( M; L4 y0 m! p
" g# b6 K* T" X* @2 WA 650 sq. ft condo in Southwood, Bamber said, recently sold for about $323 per square foot, for instance. ! g, q1 {( a6 Y) v: E1 J
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% f1 w' H5 c+ ^4 z, Z x/ W& I- 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 $105 respectively. ! ^4 r$ \5 O f H! G
4 m$ ]2 w: N% M" W' {4 ?+ O% x— 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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; k0 @2 f' q* b0 @0 Y7 Y* XThe 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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