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Average price slips as fewer people moving to Alberta, realtors association says
5 E2 y$ J. v# JBill Mah, The Edmonton Journal4 t9 Y, x# r1 Q6 N% y
Published: 1:31 am8 ~, c5 K+ Q0 j, y- g6 s9 ~
EDMONTON - The buyer still reigns in Edmonton's housing market, where the number of homes for sale has skyrocketed by 268 per cent from a year ago.
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, K0 O/ \9 r2 J6 DFigures released Thursday by the Realtors Association of Edmonton show there were 9,464 residential properties available in the city area -- up by a whopping 1,220 homes from February.
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6 |: r2 n0 }6 F, Z% jThat's the third-largest inventory in Edmonton history. Only last September and October were there more homes for sale at month's end, 9,918 and 9,577 respectively.
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Association president Marc Perras said the inventory, about six month's worth, stems largely from fewer people moving to Alberta." i# \ \# l1 | r. v. C3 h6 h
- E9 G" O) j4 P' O( x' x( e ONet migration to Alberta last year was 27,048. That's down significantly from 74,523 who moved here in 2006, according to Statistics Canada data.
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"We had an industry that ramped up, expecting that those numbers would keep up and now, as a result of that drop-off, we've seen inventory numbers come up fairly significantly," Perras said.2 S- @/ {7 i% W/ w" C4 I
" [5 C7 U( M8 K$ l& |5 kHe predicted home prices will increase by the year's end as inventory drops and called the current situation a "stable, normal" market.
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"Our sales volumes are similar to what we saw in 2004 and 2005 and our prices are essentially flat.1 \0 x, _8 c) h7 O# R- w
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"We saw quite a roller-coaster ride last year when prices jumped up significantly in the first six months and fell off significantly in the last six months."
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4 _# W$ K9 c0 Z5 s# @0 r. AA single-family home sold in March for an average price of $387,632, down 2.7 per cent from March last year.% R/ M! e8 i, Y
7 ]0 Q3 n$ n* E+ d9 ^But the average residential price -- including single-family homes, condos, duplexes, mobile homes and others -- was $343,760, 5.66 per cent higher than March 2007.
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There were 1,557 residential properties sold in March with new listings of 4,236 for a sales-to-listing ratio of 37 per cent. Homes spent 51 days on the market, down one day from last month.: o2 }( R! l0 |; w4 H
0 o: D, F( H- {Total MLS sales in March dropped 31 per cent from a record-setting pace in March 2007.
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* M! T" a. k0 |Meanwhile, a house price survey released Thursday by Royal LePage Real Estate Services says Edmonton-area houses became more affordable in the first three months of 2008.
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6 z4 M! t b: R& PThe study looked at certain local markets examined and found the average price of a "standard two-storey home" fell 3.7 per cent to $363,707.( ~0 f" t1 r' ?
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The price of detached bungalows fell 4.9 per cent to $330,000 from the same time last year. Standard condo prices also fell 7.7 per cent year-over-year to $235,000, said the LePage study.
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Ken Shearer, a Royal LePage broker and owner, said debate over energy royalties kept house prices lower.1 `& F' w& D' t! ^+ p
3 b, | P! W5 v' Q- h"As a result of this debate, the market has receded from the wild pace it experienced last year as buyers are simply no longer interested in paying skyrocketing house prices," he said.
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% s; F: t& p) K jAccording to the report, prices varied by specific market in the Edmonton region. Here are some highlights:
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# U* L! q3 R! q6 m4 J B, | r, u! nSherwood Park: Average prices for two-storey homes dropped by 7.1 per cent to $390,000, while detached bungalows and condos were unchanged from last year. i0 M9 Z) \" _. _$ Q
2 x8 T; q0 C' d# b/ i/ mSpruce Grove: A two-storey home rose 6.9 per cent to $405,000 year-over-year.3 C& M6 {8 ]$ ]
) h* n5 N% I* u0 ]! _2 D8 oRiverbend/Terwilligar: A two-storey property rose by 12.7 per cent to $410,950 over the same time last year. The average price of a detached bungalow rose by 2.6 per cent to $390,000, while condo prices dropped by 10.6 per cent to $235,000.1 F2 u8 Y! z# e) ~8 O" V5 J$ G' s
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Leduc: Average condo prices rose by 9.1 per cent to $240,000 year-over-year. Two-storey house prices dropped by 7.5 per cent ($310,000.)6 `3 K8 |# R+ l( n! k) n
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St. Albert: The average price of a two-storey home fell by 12.8 per cent to $340,000 while detached bungalows dropped by 12.3 per cent and condos by 13.3 per cent.
3 R& j o2 N* d' t+ X" \5 }0 |Castle Downs: Average detached bungalows fell by 18.6 per cent to $285,000. Average two-storey homes went down 11.4 per cent to $350,000.
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Clareview: Detached bungalows decreased by 8.8 per cent to $310,000, year-over-year. Condo prices fell by 16 per cent to $210,000 from the same time last year. |
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