 鲜花( 17)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Average price slips as fewer people moving to Alberta, realtors association says
8 r2 P! X* \2 ~Bill Mah, The Edmonton Journal2 E4 F m8 S2 Y) g6 M
Published: 1:31 am
# m% y& j2 Y4 F! j' I- iEDMONTON - 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.; Y, H) p& S2 [+ l
" S0 k6 ~4 H" oFigures 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./ \: u1 }( [3 r* t1 h/ _. A6 P. ?
, {7 H6 B# f; P0 Z% c9 P
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.
& ]: K" c( l2 J- @
( B' ^+ W2 _% Q0 G* Z5 x
Q% E+ `* I3 C# t% m( z! M9 ~# NAssociation president Marc Perras said the inventory, about six month's worth, stems largely from fewer people moving to Alberta.$ K1 b3 K5 b) n- q
* u5 h' a: R$ n2 l! T! b3 ^
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.
' G- V- n1 I& B: b! Y8 ]8 l; E3 ^5 ` a( E
"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. Q- [. }- ~7 n$ [, B) u. L: V6 h
7 f4 q1 v+ x% G( q
He predicted home prices will increase by the year's end as inventory drops and called the current situation a "stable, normal" market.+ A: A( O: f6 Y- `# d
4 y2 l# v+ j; q- b( `6 ]3 \
"Our sales volumes are similar to what we saw in 2004 and 2005 and our prices are essentially flat.
! [9 ~7 i' b& ?- }: s; A- i$ u4 a# W L6 y2 W6 |
"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."
: q: O3 x2 C* ~' m: g3 S" M$ z' G B' C0 ~$ R6 E9 r/ W! A
A single-family home sold in March for an average price of $387,632, down 2.7 per cent from March last year.% y' A) z7 i8 I/ A) {$ ?" Q8 r
P6 D; l5 o; s8 I' JBut 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.
# j# U& j. Y: |5 E
/ K* N+ m: C/ K7 Z/ vThere 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./ X1 P7 r! D U1 i; d
$ M2 ^+ D) ?$ n9 R
Total MLS sales in March dropped 31 per cent from a record-setting pace in March 2007.
4 g |. C# n/ y9 [4 [/ k: {) P
; @" s# U" L& L0 O/ E) v: o% ~& HMeanwhile, 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 2008.6 X( H0 X6 ~3 i% T! v+ @( g* K2 z
7 Y( M2 f0 L" s Q# M% FThe 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.
4 H; V* L) U5 O- P( _6 @4 s6 @9 X7 u* R+ D1 y
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 $235,000, said the LePage study.
; K. t: ?. q$ K% l% H, R. y4 t( K0 {9 }+ J
Ken Shearer, a Royal LePage broker and owner, said debate over energy royalties kept house prices lower.
+ z+ S5 y+ c5 h: I
1 q2 g# r3 z7 K9 |% b- f: ~"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.
8 {% v* t6 N/ `* z( N: d. d
z" N5 f% S+ ~2 }/ W8 ^1 XAccording to the report, prices varied by specific market in the Edmonton region. Here are some highlights:5 G+ V# v2 t" x( t9 n: H6 T
3 e0 x, P. z# Z! K% f
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.
8 Z; K7 D1 s" O& V, z' _% I, B
W( u [* E7 H& |1 R) Y3 Z/ pSpruce Grove: A two-storey home rose 6.9 per cent to $405,000 year-over-year.
5 I- h6 F& l* i8 T( b8 D9 g
: P! G9 p; ]% \& N0 z0 ]2 hRiverbend/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 $235,000.- g' Q3 L8 n! I, O' @
5 ^" H! B% I3 a4 x$ x h/ vLeduc: 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 ($310,000.)
% v% M N) i$ P% A9 k: Y5 y' p
; U% f. j* @ h. RSt. 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.7 w2 C. b+ W5 _+ e
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.
" N# I7 c1 E; A
F# a8 r9 v% `# G+ ^: iClareview: 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. |
|