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Average price slips as fewer people moving to Alberta, realtors association says
F- E) Y/ Q( X) rBill Mah, The Edmonton Journal4 }( d; f( _7 G/ K! V/ z- u& Q
Published: 1:31 am2 G& M( E s q8 I& h* E
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.1 l0 u1 {. u! l2 u# a
, d/ A; i4 p6 L+ g+ nFigures 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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$ S: p, D: r# I) i8 a+ T5 WThat'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.: S2 `5 o, p9 J. b6 H" p9 E
9 O6 O5 N& C. `* A3 J( ^& i8 U& ONet 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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"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.3 V% \9 Q& ~( B; u7 l+ i
+ o: }0 V9 s2 E% A/ A: M* u6 Z8 u" i) PHe predicted home prices will increase by the year's end as inventory drops and called the current situation a "stable, normal" market.- ]" @. {' n8 Q9 o
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"Our sales volumes are similar to what we saw in 2004 and 2005 and our prices are essentially flat.6 T, t3 g6 x ~, w1 H+ I
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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."% {6 n' _' j; |3 t0 i
" f9 E) d$ I$ RA 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 $343,760, 5.66 per cent higher than March 2007.- C8 a% _* ~) R6 I
7 }4 k& H# _9 O$ f$ S7 _- N: xThere 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.; y! ^7 E4 j: B" `: I
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Total MLS sales in March dropped 31 per cent from a record-setting pace in March 2007. Z" ]# ~) n5 u# s1 N
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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 2008.2 Q. q: I6 a1 V8 u! \
- G1 |+ v% J, [. LThe 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.
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Ken Shearer, a Royal LePage broker and owner, said debate over energy royalties kept house prices lower.( p0 a8 ]- u0 |- p
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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.8 r; M) U/ v+ J" `" a/ Z
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According to the report, prices varied by specific market in the Edmonton region. Here are some highlights:
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% L9 z! T8 p7 u; ]9 mSherwood 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.9 t7 S! `" s, }2 x' H8 B- l
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Spruce Grove: A two-storey home rose 6.9 per cent to $405,000 year-over-year.
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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 $235,000./ N! ^* z( Q& O) D! `
; R7 R6 X$ S( K" GLeduc: 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 ($310,000.)$ D5 T/ G( b- q$ H/ A+ H. j
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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., ? q, O6 V+ Y3 b
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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