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Average price slips as fewer people moving to Alberta, realtors association says
+ X3 r* o3 W9 \" G& d0 ?, nBill Mah, The Edmonton Journal
( E+ A. t" _8 r* k0 X' a, @% n8 KPublished: 1:31 am
0 S' N5 e7 o7 c* C, E) x! T BEDMONTON - 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.( g* X; E0 ~, w+ [/ H1 z! S
) Z$ I7 w8 j0 V* IFigures 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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That'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.2 R* r# V9 n/ O' K0 w0 K
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5 A+ k, H0 V* M( d$ {; {2 {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.$ u0 | X x) b: U
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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.0 V* ]" J' m. D4 ~/ @
8 x9 A: U& h5 lHe 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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6 l" j8 i8 @- @0 V, _"Our sales volumes are similar to what we saw in 2004 and 2005 and our prices are essentially flat.8 {5 J7 B# w, X. v- O
; ]- }* Q- P4 g3 m7 u8 m"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.( c5 A! n7 `( }4 s4 R7 O' |. p
1 D- X# Z# _, Q# ]. z4 ~9 IBut 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.; w2 t' E. E; I" z2 J0 n
" B1 E( {, @# h1 u; L: {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.
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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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) w) s, y7 }( r) jMeanwhile, 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 $363,707.
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$ s# U% w5 ^; X) z" ], u! }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 $235,000, said the LePage study.
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Ken Shearer, a Royal LePage broker and owner, said debate over energy royalties kept house prices lower.6 Q8 `$ p, w4 {# j' R1 \7 V
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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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According to the report, prices varied by specific market in the Edmonton region. Here are some highlights:2 D$ V& @4 B7 f5 I z. Q# O
/ @+ R B" Y# h$ GSherwood 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 Z& \) t- W. L8 g$ u& H+ j
& ?! J: {* C8 X9 f% P% {Spruce Grove: A two-storey home rose 6.9 per cent to $405,000 year-over-year.: I) `" Z) T( ]6 r7 _' T* d
1 [, u$ Y! H, s- V/ MRiverbend/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." f) g" _1 ]3 ?) M( b: z
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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 ($310,000.)8 D4 N$ H& E4 I5 u# d/ [( E# \
7 ~* B U! d+ v& BSt. 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.! n! N9 l7 ^& R" T
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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