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Average price slips as fewer people moving to Alberta, realtors association says
5 C5 z ]; M0 E: W0 O7 J! h5 q" W1 QBill Mah, The Edmonton Journal
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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.# S \+ y/ f& i" {: M4 ^7 R
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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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# y/ v- a/ n9 Z- L2 S# oThat'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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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.9 h5 v. o; y2 j! B. J% u6 @; z
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"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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" u7 w; f* }2 m( i h4 o. _" gHe predicted home prices will increase by the year's end as inventory drops and called the current situation a "stable, normal" market. r5 q# E! x+ `( e. P6 D
: `0 v- p+ F: A- o"Our sales volumes are similar to what we saw in 2004 and 2005 and our prices are essentially flat.& \% i0 C+ b7 o8 Z" z5 u
1 z' ~. b6 V+ G5 j: `"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."4 F; T6 V8 ^6 W$ x+ [8 q2 P
3 [3 n. u+ \2 P/ {! W6 m) XA 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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% X" @0 n4 W- p* mBut 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.( G4 c2 ]! P, X
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There 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.* ~5 S m6 G: w
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Total MLS sales in March dropped 31 per cent from a record-setting pace in March 2007.
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2 u; d! [/ B7 Q4 Q. Q. ?* R. gMeanwhile, 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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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.8 K' J. }+ M7 ?+ L0 r) C
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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.
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' ?6 k% e, {' S! R1 B IAccording to the report, prices varied by specific market in the Edmonton region. Here are some highlights: C; e: K, b) h) K+ _# |- X
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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.
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Spruce Grove: A two-storey home rose 6.9 per cent to $405,000 year-over-year., Z T: `# H& D! d( T
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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.
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0 K, e) p% {1 D5 n: LLeduc: 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 ($310,000.)
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* M1 F+ d2 ?/ l* P; a% z# \- I$ r5 H! qSt. Albert: The average price of a two-storey home fell by 12.8 per cent to $340,000 while detached bungalows dropped by 12.3 per cent and condos by 13.3 per cent.+ x% B3 Y7 T$ T, W1 T2 J
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.
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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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