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Thu, April 12, 2007$ T* Z, |* x0 f# N
; X; ]) R5 v4 R1 @; uCalgary ranks sixth as most expensive downtown housing7 i/ u/ G, w0 |3 s
UPDATED: 2007-04-12 16:38:42 MST- N/ }2 Y/ Z3 [, J+ w
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1 A; U4 D: q [; P: XMore and more Calgarians are buying downtown homes but paying top price for the prime location.
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( @/ B# u9 ~5 W0 |4 ?: vPeople 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. 7 ~9 ^5 b, M$ F g. \& y% g9 A9 w
% l7 ~& m) P+ ~# ^$ \Calgary ranks sixth most expensive of 31 cities surveyed around the world. 3 ~3 M% B# u, o" |
* n! b0 |* T8 l+ e; p' t$ gThe 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. d- \! Z+ D) k* a; o6 }
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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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9 F; B1 R0 P+ S0 Y V“To live downtown people pay for it.” 0 |* l7 E1 V% X; Q2 h7 ^) P% ^
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A condo in southwood for instance would run about $323 a sq. ft while downtown goes for about $500. & l8 R0 f% K7 G& b
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: u, S2 L$ _: k: ^1 _& R7 d8 ~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.” & a) O) j# ~+ B" E- 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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4 F: c- F2 ~+ S6 ^- U: i, ^. J9 P“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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He said 30 % of the housing market is condos - the bulk of which are in downtown.
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The survey showed Vancouver placing fourth most expensive at $577 per sq. ft. while Edmonton was 10th most expensive at $322. " d5 ~8 X$ z6 \/ S2 U5 w) T; q. L$ S
' A8 \% Z4 I& b& z6 L# n _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.
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5 x! F: l9 [" \5 [+ _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 $323 per square foot, for instance.
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$ E/ V- B# e- C g& w: [# [! y- 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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4 }- c& E( m# c: ~6 c— 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 2 x4 g. k7 G5 q: @
% m; u/ v) u* B2 d) nThe 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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