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Thu, April 12, 2007
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Calgary ranks sixth as most expensive downtown housing
, ~9 v. ]( n- g, KUPDATED: 2007-04-12 16:38:42 MST
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- y# ?6 H4 p7 y- Z6 B1 NBy NADIA MOHARIB, SUN MEDIA
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More and more Calgarians are buying downtown homes but paying top price for the prime location. , c; p% Z' @* i1 z9 q
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People who live in downtown business districts in Canada’s largest cities generally pay less per-square foot than people in cities around the world and enjoy shorter daily commutes to work, according to a recent survey done on first-time home buyers by CENTURY 21. " h% R& x2 O) [6 r* V+ l/ N* f5 O
( P5 z, w+ q4 {0 }5 t* kCalgary ranks sixth most expensive of 31 cities surveyed around the world.
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% p" J( U( q, q" C+ Q: b8 gThe cost to buy in Calgary’s downtown is even more than settling in Toronto’s core which ranked 16th in the survey with the average cost running $209 per sq. ft. ' w6 W8 D* Y0 T( a8 Y) e% {* L
1 r& O: O: q5 W* N$ oGeorge Bamber, owner of a Calgary-based Century 21 said it’s a sign of a city maturing and becoming more like Vancouver or Toronto where downtown is a place where people live and work.“You just get more real estate for your money outside of downtown,” he said.
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+ U( {' X" S7 `“To live downtown people pay for it.” 9 O) t- \ p6 Z0 e
( H2 I X; s( o. [A condo in southwood for instance would run about $323 a sq. ft while downtown goes for about $500. 1 }" j2 X1 H8 @; X5 P
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; N" _3 L( p* r: \, cStill Bamber said the interest in downtown living only seems to be getting more popular — a sign Calgary is “getting to be more like a big city.” ' f0 x& m2 v# V7 n
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Part of the attraction is affordability but also people wanting to buy in to a certain lifestyle, Bamber said. . T6 T1 S% F) U" z% r$ s3 Y& s
$ |4 Q# }1 P! |& w' e“People want to be close to restaurants and bars and don’t want to drive an hour to work,” he said.
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7 E: Q( U; C5 J( f; o/ Y: z* fHe said 30 % of the housing market is condos - the bulk of which are in downtown.
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; g8 Y, H9 u( ]! uThe survey showed Vancouver placing fourth most expensive at $577 per sq. ft. while Edmonton was 10th most expensive at $322.
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" J3 @. A# p9 p8 s- O9 VIn Calgary, a typical first-time buyer would choose a one-bedroom, one-bath 500-sq. ft. apartment in Mission or Connaught priced at about $250,000 and a 10-minute drive or 20-minute walk to the downtown business core and the Calgary Tower.
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While those looking for life in the suburbs and a better bang for their buck typically see a significant cost savings.
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+ i- b4 V6 R% Q0 H& \ _A 650 sq. ft condo in Southwood, Bamber said, recently sold for about $323 per square foot, for instance. 6 S" |( L: ]. ?. ?- b2 `( b o& w( _
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- St. John’s and Quebec City had the lowest and second-lowest per-square-foot downtown prices of all 31 cities surveyed, at $55 and $93 respectively.— The two lowest per-square-foot prices for international cities were Istanbul, Turkey and Sydney, Australia, at $94 and $105 respectively.
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G; Y$ ~# G, ]" x% S— Vancouver was fourth most expensive at $577 per square foot while Calgary was sixth most expensive at $500 and Edmonton was 10th most expensive at $322 — Globally Paris was the most expensive at $1,051 per square foot while London was fifth most expensive at $532 and New York was eighth most expensive at $375 The 10 least expensive downtown housing markets as ranked per-square-foot for first-time buyers are; St. John’s $55 Quebec City $93 Istanbul $94 Halifax $97 Charlottetown $104 Sydney, Australia $105 Bogota $114 Mexico City $119
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The 10 most expensive downtown housing markets; Paris $1051 Moscow $688 Seol $630 Vancouver $577 London, England $532 Calgary $500 Athens $375 New York City $375 Tokyo, $325 Edmonton $322. |
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