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Thu, April 12, 2007/ L0 Q) @+ Q3 l+ _
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Calgary ranks sixth as most expensive downtown housing
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More and more Calgarians are buying downtown homes but paying top price for the prime location. 4 D- [% {( D, T) @8 J' T
* T. Y0 j/ }; C# S. SPeople 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. , n2 A- z k! c+ Z. o
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Calgary ranks sixth most expensive of 31 cities surveyed around the world. 6 i; U- A2 h6 G/ f3 i; s' ~
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The 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 $209 per sq. ft. & }! N/ G: E1 A4 ^% e7 K
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George Bamber, owner of a Calgary-based Century 21 said it’s a sign of a city maturing and becoming more like Vancouver or Toronto where downtown is a place where people live and work.“You just get more real estate for your money outside of downtown,” he said. ' \+ V9 g/ I$ g" E4 w
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“To live downtown people pay for it.” 5 F- Z: h2 U9 N" u3 G$ b
+ }5 r4 |& q5 s9 Q/ f3 ]A condo in southwood for instance would run about $323 a sq. ft while downtown goes for about $500. 1 `& J4 v( m& o
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Still 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.”
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Part of the attraction is affordability but also people wanting to buy in to a certain lifestyle, Bamber said.
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“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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He said 30 % of the housing market is condos - the bulk of which are in downtown.
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. t. d% ]: J' g; g1 g3 }" n! uThe survey showed Vancouver placing fourth most expensive at $577 per sq. ft. while Edmonton was 10th most expensive at $322. , V9 G9 K4 x/ h1 H, r) E( ^9 O
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In 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. $ d, v: a8 b0 ?) k3 W
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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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A 650 sq. ft condo in Southwood, Bamber said, recently sold for about $323 per square foot, for instance. 2 ]. e# f9 Z) D# e
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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. ( D5 B ]' i/ ]( {. r' F+ i( H+ i
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— 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 3 j+ _% D4 x) b( D9 Y# p. f& D
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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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