 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Thu, April 12, 2007
9 |( C0 d1 b! X( j, s3 `+ w+ h, d) V- M
Calgary ranks sixth as most expensive downtown housing* ^0 w- o" X7 q3 a4 F' B' p
UPDATED: 2007-04-12 16:38:42 MST9 p/ e& z9 m: d& F
O/ t" M1 d% Z. m. B
( v& n l& s. B; m2 _/ j3 ~1 ?' oBy NADIA MOHARIB, SUN MEDIA/ |! d) O7 W$ a
, l1 w4 R7 y5 u0 k
! z j+ V: t9 \/ t, e7 v* `( }! _( X: J
More and more Calgarians are buying downtown homes but paying top price for the prime location.
4 K8 d' z+ ~8 a' P! J
- L7 @& M9 q) q' aPeople who live in downtown business districts in Canada’s largest cities generally pay less per-square foot than people in cities around the world and enjoy shorter daily commutes to work, according to a recent survey done on first-time home buyers by CENTURY 21.
+ n( y, |% |6 E2 h$ w* e" x/ N. E( A8 x4 G- @6 u3 f
Calgary ranks sixth most expensive of 31 cities surveyed around the world. ( W! ?/ {& E- q" E) l
- A1 K& d' [! A& f
The cost to buy in Calgary’s downtown is even more than settling in Toronto’s core which ranked 16th in the survey with the average cost running $209 per sq. ft. " J2 [$ Q! \' O {! e+ W
J' }2 `$ E) T- [4 C4 [George Bamber, owner of a Calgary-based Century 21 said it’s a sign of a city maturing and becoming more like Vancouver or Toronto where downtown is a place where people live and work.“You just get more real estate for your money outside of downtown,” he said. 7 c) c( ~. V; J
8 s' e1 v( j/ \) A& y5 k“To live downtown people pay for it.”
3 x+ _6 L' K: u; m+ l* A. p3 N. G" x, |" ~' e; U
A condo in southwood for instance would run about $323 a sq. ft while downtown goes for about $500.
- d: ]7 Q" A( s9 ~
7 ~/ X. F3 P# q' w/ x8 q j8 _2 z/ p# i5 U6 ^' R9 V
Still Bamber said the interest in downtown living only seems to be getting more popular — a sign Calgary is “getting to be more like a big city.” # A8 n8 Q, b2 H/ [( {1 o. ~9 _
/ G! t3 l5 L3 rPart of the attraction is affordability but also people wanting to buy in to a certain lifestyle, Bamber said. 3 V8 S( W4 r3 ]
; g9 H9 Z- ]7 \
“People want to be close to restaurants and bars and don’t want to drive an hour to work,” he said. & d; _) S- O, o( `- a2 W+ i
) }* ~2 r6 [) i: S( h
He said 30 % of the housing market is condos - the bulk of which are in downtown.
$ C6 Z# y# j! x7 P. B/ b
9 `7 C8 o2 t4 u1 V* pThe survey showed Vancouver placing fourth most expensive at $577 per sq. ft. while Edmonton was 10th most expensive at $322. - V: A+ n N/ H; j
* w5 v( v; E- ]' Q% r0 x6 D& U
In Calgary, a typical first-time buyer would choose a one-bedroom, one-bath 500-sq. ft. apartment in Mission or Connaught priced at about $250,000 and a 10-minute drive or 20-minute walk to the downtown business core and the Calgary Tower. / x8 V) D6 [$ R$ @5 h, G# C% k
4 [( @. H4 f; z2 S
While those looking for life in the suburbs and a better bang for their buck typically see a significant cost savings.
2 n" C. r% W. ^6 K: q& [/ {) P3 t( ]! H6 i' M
A 650 sq. ft condo in Southwood, Bamber said, recently sold for about $323 per square foot, for instance. # D- r. X N. L. _2 G
2 o; E# T9 S% N* h" @$ U. d0 r4 d
FAST FAX ! N/ q) \ Y9 b! `5 g/ F
+ y6 L; c8 d9 z1 Q3 A& {; d$ @6 c; P
- St. John’s and Quebec City had the lowest and second-lowest per-square-foot downtown prices of all 31 cities surveyed, at $55 and $93 respectively.— The two lowest per-square-foot prices for international cities were Istanbul, Turkey and Sydney, Australia, at $94 and $105 respectively.
0 A/ c$ l2 T8 k
( n1 L5 O& `2 |3 g; S D— Vancouver was fourth most expensive at $577 per square foot while Calgary was sixth most expensive at $500 and Edmonton was 10th most expensive at $322 — Globally Paris was the most expensive at $1,051 per square foot while London was fifth most expensive at $532 and New York was eighth most expensive at $375 The 10 least expensive downtown housing markets as ranked per-square-foot for first-time buyers are; St. John’s $55 Quebec City $93 Istanbul $94 Halifax $97 Charlottetown $104 Sydney, Australia $105 Bogota $114 Mexico City $119 " J/ P# R2 E- ^1 I
* \- ]2 ^0 m# R r4 NThe 10 most expensive downtown housing markets; Paris $1051 Moscow $688 Seol $630 Vancouver $577 London, England $532 Calgary $500 Athens $375 New York City $375 Tokyo, $325 Edmonton $322. |
|