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Average price slips as fewer people moving to Alberta, realtors association says& c- l! r( o( N$ B" m
Bill Mah, The Edmonton Journal" m* j* ~5 b/ ~& R
Published: 1:31 am
$ @0 O) r! G6 m0 n! _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.
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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.! q: _! `1 T' ?! X5 k8 i% N
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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.
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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 M9 w O# C. ^
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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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: m. U8 ]/ O5 m; C"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 @/ [4 ~, q6 c) B. Z" Q+ n
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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. W1 U- F5 S- m: t( z( }
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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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A single-family home sold in March for an average price of $387,632, down 2.7 per cent from March last year.1 H' c, L2 |2 `
/ _% \. j6 _, ?' GBut the average residential price -- including single-family homes, condos, duplexes, mobile homes and others -- was $343,760, 5.66 per cent higher than March 2007.
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) ~9 }! }( O$ z, tThere 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 2007.6 X; C& Q* ?4 L7 N8 X$ {* D5 F
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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 2008.9 g/ F8 j* F k6 M; V0 T; U
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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 $363,707.
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$ t' d/ x5 X# S. y3 g- u& z; aThe 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 $235,000, said the LePage study.
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+ S0 a+ R' q/ hKen Shearer, a Royal LePage broker and owner, said debate over energy royalties kept house prices lower.
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/ ~' e( q8 j* ?6 G+ X: ]% ]3 A; _"As a result of this debate, the market has receded from the wild pace it experienced last year as buyers are simply no longer interested in paying skyrocketing house prices," he said." ^) N- C/ h* R1 j; s0 x
! h6 b6 U/ |+ Y$ t$ fAccording to the report, prices varied by specific market in the Edmonton region. Here are some highlights:
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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.8 G( i1 l0 G8 n, H6 @
. g' E0 F% \- XRiverbend/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 $235,000.8 |! G, ^* K; c7 K0 Y
) r7 A9 F" H) P+ \; q# uLeduc: 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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& y; K) P ]5 d- y( j& s4 vSt. 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./ F6 l4 r3 r% x( G
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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