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Average price slips as fewer people moving to Alberta, realtors association says
9 W/ b, b: [3 [) [3 P0 ABill Mah, The Edmonton Journal
2 N, U& d. X" u* mPublished: 1:31 am
7 L! f0 q1 w: `3 {+ GEDMONTON - 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." S) k; n# Y0 |" I+ ?: b4 S
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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.6 c; N5 _9 E! w- \
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- h! M( @. ]2 h4 u eAssociation president Marc Perras said the inventory, about six month's worth, stems largely from fewer people moving to Alberta.
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5 M4 W) I, Z/ xNet 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., C' _7 }+ y7 G0 [- n2 i* y) J
/ \- b* L3 E$ R* v$ W: ~"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." |) w( v) K% m/ I) T
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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.
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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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3 R. r; @) t' b# j) ["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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, L, _2 X5 i. O9 RA single-family home sold in March for an average price of $387,632, down 2.7 per cent from March last year.
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. h" k- N* {$ ?( K9 \1 IBut the average residential price -- including single-family homes, condos, duplexes, mobile homes and others -- was $343,760, 5.66 per cent higher than March 2007.4 K3 B5 W9 e* L
6 S$ k3 X7 B& _/ c% b ~9 s. NThere 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.; F: P! H' t3 [3 H
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Total MLS sales in March dropped 31 per cent from a record-setting pace in March 2007.
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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.
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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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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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: B8 ?) h; G4 } WKen Shearer, a Royal LePage broker and owner, said debate over energy royalties kept house prices lower.8 G2 ]9 k! L/ q. e* S2 P9 t1 @
o' ~6 V" l/ h: l- j- s"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.* r6 {; G" }8 N; B D. }
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According to the report, prices varied by specific market in the Edmonton region. Here are some highlights:5 R" P/ c3 K1 q: N: w
1 k* g, i. R- |7 d- |* |Sherwood Park: Average prices for two-storey homes dropped by 7.1 per cent to $390,000, while detached bungalows and condos were unchanged from last year.# H! t1 K7 W7 G1 W. U, \5 c1 A( ~
' M. ~$ e& `& iSpruce Grove: A two-storey home rose 6.9 per cent to $405,000 year-over-year.5 y4 Y$ V7 e1 ]6 Z6 C# v
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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 $235,000.6 U$ R( M$ Y$ Z
2 P6 s- `; S" NLeduc: 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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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.0 y/ v: S6 o# S% k" e) {
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 $350,000.
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% Q* g$ L) T4 t, u* e) ]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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