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Average price slips as fewer people moving to Alberta, realtors association says) |/ j0 q( E* p( @
Bill Mah, The Edmonton Journal
% s1 ]& h5 w4 n5 jPublished: 1:31 am5 z; n7 l! f+ ?* }
EDMONTON - 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.0 s# J6 @: D) M% l* R6 E$ A9 g
; h5 F3 t& W N: Y8 U. }) bFigures 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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b# u: n- P8 L% V9 CThat'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.
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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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5 [/ [1 r" k- e5 a" D( @; x9 W8 sNet 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.4 m6 ^4 d4 h. m+ m( \- f6 p# I; i
$ X: {# 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.
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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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( v7 G4 B7 f5 F R! n, {8 O"Our sales volumes are similar to what we saw in 2004 and 2005 and our prices are essentially flat.. R/ T9 [* w' [: @* i
% C7 e S# Y8 a"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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A single-family home sold in March for an average price of $387,632, down 2.7 per cent from March last year.
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0 e9 X. p* g- \& @" fBut 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.
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/ u. c3 ^9 j' Z, YThere 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 2007.3 t3 p. t9 i1 w2 n% T z9 `: l
* I2 [! F* s( e/ ?Meanwhile, 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.
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9 `/ u6 `8 k. G Z; ^+ pThe 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 $235,000, said the LePage study.
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Ken Shearer, a Royal LePage broker and owner, said debate over energy royalties kept house prices lower.
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1 r, }9 u! Q" n, m, k3 d z% R x2 p"As a result of this debate, the market has receded from the wild pace it experienced last year as buyers are simply no longer interested in paying skyrocketing house prices," he said.; \$ k+ D+ A$ C8 `6 `0 [; b
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According to the report, prices varied by specific market in the Edmonton region. Here are some highlights:8 j0 U) n* K: Z4 f
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Sherwood Park: Average prices for two-storey homes dropped by 7.1 per cent to $390,000, while detached bungalows and condos were unchanged from last year." G; q' j7 F! s# ^' \, h0 {- I
+ Q8 b$ D" w+ S7 ?4 PSpruce Grove: A two-storey home rose 6.9 per cent to $405,000 year-over-year.' p$ R& E6 A, b- a0 i: A& w8 x! F3 ]
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Riverbend/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 $235,000.6 |4 f8 u3 L$ t9 O" C7 m- Q
7 ]" U& b5 F$ Z Y; \Leduc: 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.
, P- ~) {1 e* v9 cCastle 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." a6 a; m1 k" r4 L5 F- m' a# N
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Clareview: 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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