 鲜花( 7)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
EDMONTON — Prices for single-family homes in the Edmonton region dropped while condo prices rallied in December, according to figures released today by the Realtors Association of Edmonton.
4 o2 d8 I9 g6 ^6 k7 q- x+ D
5 N1 ~9 C0 A5 Q% t“That’s a 180-degree twist from what we saw in the month of November,” said outgoing association president Marc Perras.5 S* r9 K' g2 [2 u
% ]7 X5 b! H/ I5 t* NThe average price for a single family home dropped by three per cent to $351,870 after remaining flat for two months. That’s $30,000 less than the average price of a single family dwelling at the start of 2008.3 e+ s( D& q" ]. p- U
) p1 ^0 J) g0 A$ E' q5 ^
Condominium prices — which fell more than eight per cent in the previous two months — edged up 1.2 per cent over November.2 e# W: Z) y4 _) ~: ^
. n6 J4 o, R5 f3 Z
Over the year, condo prices dropped 7.5 per cent from $253,270 to $234,286.
9 Z0 c/ F, r: A0 r) V( {6 L# m, }1 q1 O& w& L
At the end of December, there were 6,316 homes in inventory. The sales to listing ratio was 46 per cent and average days on market was 65, up two from November.7 `' H& k. M3 ?3 M. y# z
6 B0 M5 H& C [! N5 M9 u
Residential sales plunged by 29.1 per cent in December to 608. Perras blamed cold weather and global economic uncertainty.
" S. x: Q; n8 [9 u4 g' [1 ~: Y" `2 R1 {; c' e9 [/ m
“Who wants to tour homes when both your toes and your portfolio are frozen?” Perras said.# x _: ^7 K" x% N: W
% r7 M; S5 N' mNeither Perras, nor incoming president Charlie Ponde would release a resale market forecast for 2009 until a news conference scheduled for Thursday.- C' t. `- y7 E) ?& ^& T
s* W2 d" H7 n0 h' dBut one real estate company predicted Tuesday that after months of sluggish sales and slipping prices, Edmonton’s housing will return to “a normal state” in 2009." y( y1 n7 Y- ~) D! E
i+ ~, g0 T0 w5 c. f( `! jThe year will bring stable average house prices and gradually increasing sales, according to the Royal LePage 2009 Market Survey Forecast.' ?4 [ y" A% F% f/ A1 l1 z
5 |9 d) f% q5 V0 C- \) G5 Z“The combination of healthy employment levels, historically low interest rates and good affordability — something the city has not seen in a while — will all bolster Edmonton’s housing resale market in 2009,” said the survey.+ I6 C' U8 h5 B* e; q ~
6 J3 ]. x8 C. T/ C2 T9 R' yThe report predicts the average local house price to hold steady at $333,000 this year. The number of homes sold is expected to increase by three per cent to 17,825 units, it said.$ S' Q$ o- b' r, A# g
The company added that a glut of homes that burdened the market shrank in 2008 and will get smaller in 2009, putting Edmonton in a balanced market.6 U+ M) C1 a) ?
; u' l( m l+ R) f
“Nationally, Canadian average house prices are forecast to dip by three per cent from last year to $295,000, while transactions are projected to fall to 416,000 (–3.5 per cent) unit sales in 2009,” the report said.
* A) V4 \9 W* R8 {" m6 k
0 k3 H! b8 g! T4 Y* r) MMeanwhile, the Realtors Association of Edmonton will release a recap of the housing market this morning and a forecast of 2009 on Thursday. |
|