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Thu, April 12, 2007
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% a7 Z/ H9 q0 G2 k, s) F0 p+ YCalgary ranks sixth as most expensive downtown housing
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More and more Calgarians are buying downtown homes but paying top price for the prime location. % D6 W( \- ]% m& M; ?
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People 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. ( i q' g4 U! I' o$ B# j( R! ]
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Calgary ranks sixth most expensive of 31 cities surveyed around the world. * ?( p+ z j0 v$ [8 A; p+ T5 r% _
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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. ! c' W) W9 ]; H, N2 M W9 l4 x
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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. & S+ f. f' X- @# }
. B: U5 h" J' `3 g+ K- x! n2 k“To live downtown people pay for it.” . f0 l3 l; T2 R# s
. B# x7 l! @3 q' K3 T; iA condo in southwood for instance would run about $323 a sq. ft while downtown goes for about $500. 7 T: N# ? Y3 i+ x8 a6 s( j# B
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5 x" U5 O" g. o1 J6 J1 _ zStill Bamber said the interest in downtown living only seems to be getting more popular — a sign Calgary is “getting to be more like a big city.” " a. k9 r: ^, I0 X. E+ a; K. p6 x( h n
" L# Z/ y9 B$ X8 e2 D1 h7 D, XPart of the attraction is affordability but also people wanting to buy in to a certain lifestyle, Bamber said.
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; w* V! c! t; F5 J" J; h2 G, H& B% R+ b“People want to be close to restaurants and bars and don’t want to drive an hour to work,” he said.
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He said 30 % of the housing market is condos - the bulk of which are in downtown. - E9 Q6 g+ r# G
6 x8 z/ e. E3 ~, rThe survey showed Vancouver placing fourth most expensive at $577 per sq. ft. while Edmonton was 10th most expensive at $322. ( i6 e6 v+ R' U+ i! l7 D
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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.
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While those looking for life in the suburbs and a better bang for their buck typically see a significant cost savings.
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* t# _) H- P! F1 @2 NA 650 sq. ft condo in Southwood, Bamber said, recently sold for about $323 per square foot, for instance.
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- 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.
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( t. {) u/ L" R' \6 h8 Y0 c— 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
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The 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. |
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