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Average price slips as fewer people moving to Alberta, realtors association says0 f1 M6 j% _$ s' L C0 S
Bill Mah, The Edmonton Journal* s* {0 K5 Y$ [2 \
Published: 1:31 am* o! n8 h+ h) `4 S# G& t
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.1 ]+ |/ g$ [, k. q' o/ s- Y
) ^9 s- n! L8 A6 M* hFigures 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.: G# a2 k8 p3 B) `5 X3 P' n& p# \
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That'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.) ]2 f2 G/ Y3 J# r
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Net 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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M# W- Y' J I! J$ a"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.4 E# ~* L' E! O6 o; Y8 ?/ t
% U4 T. j3 z0 U9 H. x- nHe predicted home prices will increase by the year's end as inventory drops and called the current situation a "stable, normal" market., g! [$ W# Q1 H
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"Our sales volumes are similar to what we saw in 2004 and 2005 and our prices are essentially flat.
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8 a* Y5 l+ l. Z! \+ i3 A: i! T7 E M! a"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."0 K8 { @6 a+ _8 J( ^
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A single-family home sold in March for an average price of $387,632, down 2.7 per cent from March last year. d9 L, p6 `( ]7 q. n4 O x
% `( j9 g% V5 EBut the average residential price -- including single-family homes, condos, duplexes, mobile homes and others -- was $343,760, 5.66 per cent higher than March 2007.
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There were 1,557 residential properties sold in March with new listings of 4,236 for a sales-to-listing ratio of 37 per cent. Homes spent 51 days on the market, down one day from last month.: N2 v* P( L: m# `3 P$ Z3 ?
. g3 n$ e2 I; @" G% zTotal MLS sales in March dropped 31 per cent from a record-setting pace in March 2007.
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' l: ^2 i& k) T5 S& WMeanwhile, 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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. j1 y% E5 [( AThe 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.
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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 $235,000, said the LePage study.
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Ken Shearer, a Royal LePage broker and owner, said debate over energy royalties kept house prices lower.6 ]1 H! I q* C
% ^( ]: s$ Z& S- q"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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0 G% j% Y4 U, x( r- {: }5 k- {According to the report, prices varied by specific market in the Edmonton region. Here are some highlights:
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Sherwood Park: Average prices for two-storey homes dropped by 7.1 per cent to $390,000, while detached bungalows and condos were unchanged from last year.! U: }' Y# _+ P C$ W( {% i" Y) y1 _
( Z' e* ?( A, rSpruce Grove: A two-storey home rose 6.9 per cent to $405,000 year-over-year.
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Riverbend/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 $235,000.$ M* m, m9 r; m7 P4 X. f& g% f
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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.)' x0 ^7 ^/ q4 s% s6 D
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St. Albert: The average price of a two-storey home fell by 12.8 per cent to $340,000 while detached bungalows dropped by 12.3 per cent and condos by 13.3 per cent.8 h$ D( `# U8 s* d7 B) D+ k
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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