 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.5 V& |* D) ?% S
1 ]* r% E5 J x' Q1 a“That’s a 180-degree twist from what we saw in the month of November,” said outgoing association president Marc Perras.1 B; C1 y2 ^' u
8 |5 }6 w9 m! E+ Y
The 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." z! J% {9 d( K9 r0 K, h
% z0 S" S2 S/ Y/ L
Condominium prices — which fell more than eight per cent in the previous two months — edged up 1.2 per cent over November.! M* }) \( x7 g0 g5 B
" v/ u2 g* }. h" U5 l" wOver the year, condo prices dropped 7.5 per cent from $253,270 to $234,286.! D' Y; R3 U* w1 j; P$ a8 n9 L
' X( g2 i7 o% Y6 H& v: h5 ~: F5 \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 S4 c; Y! z% x) u% M
5 f9 ~" C2 K; q0 z( ^ fResidential sales plunged by 29.1 per cent in December to 608. Perras blamed cold weather and global economic uncertainty.) a4 _5 E2 o9 s/ y, c5 K
' i6 g( e) s$ R5 k9 h7 \
“Who wants to tour homes when both your toes and your portfolio are frozen?” Perras said.
- W. O: Z: S, L$ J1 B
8 T# A" ^9 h" ^5 X' D6 ~ u# \Neither Perras, nor incoming president Charlie Ponde would release a resale market forecast for 2009 until a news conference scheduled for Thursday.
/ s3 X( D. b& J9 u c( B4 z9 T& E1 N) Y- Y1 S! H: ]
But 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.
2 Q" @" [: X3 S% _: [0 V! f5 {' t) q
The year will bring stable average house prices and gradually increasing sales, according to the Royal LePage 2009 Market Survey Forecast.
, W& u: a! a) _' R0 A/ }- A% Y" V+ s" b' N0 ?
“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.* ?! H; S1 y; g' a( i) B3 H5 |
9 r6 x; E9 G) R! W/ r4 V
The report predicts the average local house price to hold steady at $333,000 this year. The number of homes sold is expected to increase by three per cent to 17,825 units, it said.
5 F+ d. U9 u5 d. A. PThe company added that a glut of homes that burdened the market shrank in 2008 and will get smaller in 2009, putting Edmonton in a balanced market./ j$ V M, e9 A) t% X r
4 v+ l7 s$ Y1 ?4 y% I: I
“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.' H# j2 P2 ~2 x% e% w+ K
1 y1 F0 P# ?, I& _; m( t; ?8 PMeanwhile, the Realtors Association of Edmonton will release a recap of the housing market this morning and a forecast of 2009 on Thursday. |
|