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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.
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7 Q, _8 S2 e% |0 d% q“That’s a 180-degree twist from what we saw in the month of November,” said outgoing association president Marc Perras.: A) w, j+ {* @7 ^
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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.
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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. T. L1 R5 X; t4 Z4 W) G J, D
' [' n% [" ?2 b. e4 t2 [- W4 P* kOver the year, condo prices dropped 7.5 per cent from $253,270 to $234,286.
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At the end of December, there were 6,316 homes in inventory. The sales to listing ratio was 46 per cent and average days on market was 65, up two from November.2 U- N" h) \* i0 i3 M% ]1 b
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Residential sales plunged by 29.1 per cent in December to 608. Perras blamed cold weather and global economic uncertainty.( M& x; l! t- o- ?$ p6 p K0 l
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“Who wants to tour homes when both your toes and your portfolio are frozen?” Perras said.
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* r( u' K3 y% v7 }4 K) R/ RNeither Perras, nor incoming president Charlie Ponde would release a resale market forecast for 2009 until a news conference scheduled for Thursday.0 m5 u) g8 M# A2 V# P1 O! A
% Q" w' c% g6 H$ pBut 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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( m4 ?$ T! @* w( iThe year will bring stable average house prices and gradually increasing sales, according to the Royal LePage 2009 Market Survey Forecast.+ n8 p( Q2 F" k
: j. I7 O+ b' O- B; ]( O5 d“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.5 o3 I; _8 H b
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The report predicts the average local house price to hold steady at $333,000 this year. The number of homes sold is expected to increase by three per cent to 17,825 units, it said.
8 e& a- c% ]% e! h ~- E% `& ^The company added that a glut of homes that burdened the market shrank in 2008 and will get smaller in 2009, putting Edmonton in a balanced market.( Y9 E" O4 k" p9 Y5 ?/ M7 H8 A: z
3 T, ^9 N% ^2 ]$ N! }) P“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.& {8 M' z, ~/ ~' w
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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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