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Average price slips as fewer people moving to Alberta, realtors association says1 C7 I8 ?1 w" R. T' G6 W6 T: D
Bill Mah, The Edmonton Journal
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; w8 ]$ `) J0 O8 h" H1 G2 s3 |8 z6 hEDMONTON - 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." {2 p7 \0 C% p) E9 t
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Figures 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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6 _1 D, Q6 G8 MThat'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.) ?* Q/ I: i/ v+ z0 D
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Association president Marc Perras said the inventory, about six month's worth, stems largely from fewer people moving to Alberta.1 \$ x/ x3 I% S# x! E3 p5 n
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Net 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.
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. u4 r' q$ d- k1 b"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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"Our sales volumes are similar to what we saw in 2004 and 2005 and our prices are essentially flat.
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"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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D W/ j6 {7 y7 b1 {6 L, A# ~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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But the average residential price -- including single-family homes, condos, duplexes, mobile homes and others -- was $343,760, 5.66 per cent higher than March 2007.) k7 I# L+ K' k( c6 D% |$ I
4 y" U* `+ y, l" u+ ^/ lThere 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., M5 E9 C5 E# {1 \5 ?" o
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Total MLS sales in March dropped 31 per cent from a record-setting pace in March 2007.: ~+ @. c; E; z& |: R
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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.) I# J7 s# L" w/ X8 I; \
/ i- p: h% ~+ ]/ \The 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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"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.* n1 r7 ?# g2 K5 N' r G
- {2 A9 `, W' WAccording to the report, prices varied by specific market in the Edmonton region. Here are some highlights:. G0 D4 |- o. R/ \
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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.8 E- r" u/ k' \, x+ B* I8 q/ b
& R' j5 N4 Y: S9 T: rSpruce Grove: A two-storey home rose 6.9 per cent to $405,000 year-over-year.' J0 @! K2 s p5 p
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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. h' [. ]& Y3 @
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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.)& R0 w6 G- G* w& ~
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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." l. p" b9 N3 T7 C
Castle 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.% v! K2 T' W' _
0 `2 Z7 a' Z( [9 ^/ G/ W: i' A8 VClareview: 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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