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Average price slips as fewer people moving to Alberta, realtors association says
8 Z, ]" w+ `' e4 }% h* s# BBill Mah, The Edmonton Journal
/ o3 ?. t3 p7 @ Q* k" _$ BPublished: 1:31 am
6 ~! _' F0 T' @8 Q" @0 h, C3 v. XEDMONTON - 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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4 \6 m t* F0 j1 ]* I" ?Figures 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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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.$ B& m! I V( q& `$ b0 S( ^% u
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Association president Marc Perras said the inventory, about six month's worth, stems largely from fewer people moving to Alberta.
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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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2 P n2 C. q. `/ `/ E9 L N+ C"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.. l- r! r- b Z, @$ l% L4 j
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He 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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# ~/ {0 Q( u! T. s* g"Our sales volumes are similar to what we saw in 2004 and 2005 and our prices are essentially flat.
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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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: z$ K' h1 e3 B( O2 dA single-family home sold in March for an average price of $387,632, down 2.7 per cent from March last year.; X9 |& a" I! ]! @$ J% m, [
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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./ z2 j' k r& [
( Z& q3 ?# |" J( qThere 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.
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Total MLS sales in March dropped 31 per cent from a record-setting pace in March 2007.
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/ O) d/ _) o6 B# GMeanwhile, 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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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.# U) v) `4 n3 z
. v1 R' N- P" e2 c1 |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 $235,000, said the LePage study.
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Ken Shearer, a Royal LePage broker and owner, said debate over energy royalties kept house prices lower.& m' t% J m8 s
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"As a result of this debate, the market has receded from the wild pace it experienced last year as buyers are simply no longer interested in paying skyrocketing house prices," he said.
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( o" F9 F9 t$ _7 o+ UAccording 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.2 f2 N: s# Y5 |! q: Q5 V
; j0 [6 s4 a e v% M. L" oSpruce Grove: A two-storey home rose 6.9 per cent to $405,000 year-over-year.( f% i7 i( r- F. |6 E
: p$ \& l8 w4 v* URiverbend/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 $235,000.) g2 Y! S! u/ K& {
4 p2 e$ \5 u5 q- t% TLeduc: 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.)
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St. Albert: The average price of a two-storey home fell by 12.8 per cent to $340,000 while detached bungalows dropped by 12.3 per cent and condos by 13.3 per cent.8 s6 M- \& n$ s4 C5 ~$ x
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 $350,000.9 s6 l% a4 ]& w9 ?
* w2 W* W0 [1 R H; CClareview: 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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