 鲜花( 17)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Average price slips as fewer people moving to Alberta, realtors association says
$ f6 F+ C7 }6 H' q! WBill Mah, The Edmonton Journal- g# y% F/ e `/ b3 e2 @
Published: 1:31 am/ ?& O, r( U z d I v1 ]" W$ a4 ^
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.: O( ?! `# ]! F. V% c
7 n, q4 g- f5 ~/ v- `' j' N; k* NFigures 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.
) O* d% H" m: u( e7 j# z# K7 c' B
4 W* z+ I6 n2 y3 C- x. }/ q! w0 U4 QThat'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.
( ]. F% R5 S. ^' M( ^
- {. P0 {" u, R& n2 ]% J
! v% L7 ?$ C s* O. J8 |8 jAssociation president Marc Perras said the inventory, about six month's worth, stems largely from fewer people moving to Alberta.; N* I$ `& ^" Z x; f
; M* s7 V ^6 O0 `; T, d4 [: ~0 l: y INet 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.
: q: `/ K% { D- T7 r" v: X6 a3 ]5 G9 g& L
"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.
' D8 U0 `8 ]. r$ A/ p/ i, d
- W: g. H& y* P! F @( `' |He predicted home prices will increase by the year's end as inventory drops and called the current situation a "stable, normal" market.0 N: q$ D7 j9 F- ^: d
& R( |3 u& ?2 `4 m. f: v9 _
"Our sales volumes are similar to what we saw in 2004 and 2005 and our prices are essentially flat.
, M- x. @7 O1 G0 A5 q
. r+ f' {- @! O) d7 |- J"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."8 P* Q; l+ |& j% U
$ N* E! R3 T) D# C" V' _5 h( jA single-family home sold in March for an average price of $387,632, down 2.7 per cent from March last year.
5 y* ]: j' v2 N- O' A
6 H5 r! \( ]6 R1 O+ X0 mBut the average residential price -- including single-family homes, condos, duplexes, mobile homes and others -- was $343,760, 5.66 per cent higher than March 2007.
7 y/ U8 J. N3 C3 J6 X0 Q7 Q: f0 q+ J! b% V0 @8 O
There were 1,557 residential properties sold in March with new listings of 4,236 for a sales-to-listing ratio of 37 per cent. Homes spent 51 days on the market, down one day from last month.
6 g6 M$ V9 A: O( Y5 r0 \) ?7 G R0 o
" r' \9 _- N& F! RTotal MLS sales in March dropped 31 per cent from a record-setting pace in March 2007. W; H( ]0 k3 t! h- E
% p- ], y4 ]( A, a- i
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./ F* y" x! Z; y# ]5 T' h
2 m9 P( i& `/ ~
The 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.
+ z6 ]+ ^( O1 |# F9 g3 ^3 Z/ E0 L. q: n8 {0 \2 d
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.7 V, s# f9 U5 `- f4 Y8 I) w
?4 }- k+ r i7 x4 ~Ken Shearer, a Royal LePage broker and owner, said debate over energy royalties kept house prices lower.
9 r. [: U( K2 b
9 Q) q6 r4 b! p" S"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.
* s3 m" G" _1 x; Z4 P
* c% f- E* C; y9 S. [- L& WAccording to the report, prices varied by specific market in the Edmonton region. Here are some highlights:: i% I3 J, H9 t4 T9 T
# v" k0 ?9 a( r [/ [
Sherwood Park: Average prices for two-storey homes dropped by 7.1 per cent to $390,000, while detached bungalows and condos were unchanged from last year.; d# Q D, ^% c/ Y3 v1 [( o* f$ h
. a5 l7 o# }9 F) D
Spruce Grove: A two-storey home rose 6.9 per cent to $405,000 year-over-year.
* y: C" i5 j4 \# \! Q+ F9 U; V2 r3 C, c6 W
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.
! t9 r# f# @; F7 o! Q. d- b6 h5 V1 k
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.)& W- }8 F7 w7 m
: H5 G. b7 p3 [3 m& j' k3 X% ]
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.
0 P, {* W+ b c _' n3 UCastle Downs: Average detached bungalows fell by 18.6 per cent to $285,000. Average two-storey homes went down 11.4 per cent to $350,000./ a( K2 f* j: v7 o# s( k; |9 T
& L$ e- |* Z( \8 U8 [. {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. |
|