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EDMONTON — Prices for single-family homes in the Edmonton region dropped while condo prices rallied in December, according to figures released today by the Realtors Association of Edmonton.: T8 Q: n/ x; }9 @ {, a# U
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“That’s a 180-degree twist from what we saw in the month of November,” said outgoing association president Marc Perras.
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The average price for a single family home dropped by three per cent to $351,870 after remaining flat for two months. That’s $30,000 less than the average price of a single family dwelling at the start of 2008.) q; `, _0 f! |! u
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Condominium prices — which fell more than eight per cent in the previous two months — edged up 1.2 per cent over November.+ m1 `4 a' N1 W" J+ y- T" V3 @4 \
- L+ E- X: d1 yOver the year, condo prices dropped 7.5 per cent from $253,270 to $234,286.
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At the end of December, there were 6,316 homes in inventory. The sales to listing ratio was 46 per cent and average days on market was 65, up two from November.
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) W. s8 p, n1 U, C( U$ WResidential sales plunged by 29.1 per cent in December to 608. Perras blamed cold weather and global economic uncertainty.# ]" S2 l( }- o4 t/ K. ?4 n6 u: U' x
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“Who wants to tour homes when both your toes and your portfolio are frozen?” Perras said.# \/ S; ]! ]+ R- E6 @
8 B9 w/ [2 G5 qNeither Perras, nor incoming president Charlie Ponde would release a resale market forecast for 2009 until a news conference scheduled for Thursday.9 E% V+ k( @/ a) t4 N3 A9 w4 J8 k
m$ K( B: Y, z7 q" n& ]' yBut one real estate company predicted Tuesday that after months of sluggish sales and slipping prices, Edmonton’s housing will return to “a normal state” in 2009.
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4 r$ ?: ^$ W+ y ~" _2 I9 c4 w8 _; C xThe year will bring stable average house prices and gradually increasing sales, according to the Royal LePage 2009 Market Survey Forecast.3 c1 o1 F, F+ D
" ^/ L4 V3 W$ o3 I; p“The combination of healthy employment levels, historically low interest rates and good affordability — something the city has not seen in a while — will all bolster Edmonton’s housing resale market in 2009,” said the survey.0 w9 n$ A) C7 O
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The report predicts the average local house price to hold steady at $333,000 this year. The number of homes sold is expected to increase by three per cent to 17,825 units, it said.
$ `2 X- p$ o+ q7 Z2 Y! WThe company added that a glut of homes that burdened the market shrank in 2008 and will get smaller in 2009, putting Edmonton in a balanced market.
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: D1 E) d! o1 K- f“Nationally, Canadian average house prices are forecast to dip by three per cent from last year to $295,000, while transactions are projected to fall to 416,000 (–3.5 per cent) unit sales in 2009,” the report said.9 d7 {; f3 Z+ B! P, v, M" b, V3 _
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Meanwhile, the Realtors Association of Edmonton will release a recap of the housing market this morning and a forecast of 2009 on Thursday. |
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