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Average price slips as fewer people moving to Alberta, realtors association says3 [6 G9 u9 ?' H" u Z' y
Bill Mah, The Edmonton Journal
! Q- @3 U) v: ` d1 }& Q3 z6 OPublished: 1:31 am0 X; I' s, x3 T* m: H6 {0 y
EDMONTON - 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.' L7 m# V. N5 r+ w- I! _
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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.
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0 s3 J2 J5 M$ w3 ?' B2 FThat'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.1 {5 f. q. J* F. K* b e
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Association president Marc Perras said the inventory, about six month's worth, stems largely from fewer people moving to Alberta.3 L9 e" K6 l& V: w
5 y1 X% e1 E, c0 t3 z4 T) NNet 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.
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( e8 M$ B3 C' Z% ]2 M"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. n# P& A& U7 ?% }+ |( a& p3 Q
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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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- p" t+ I4 f D6 c% X& K"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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A single-family home sold in March for an average price of $387,632, down 2.7 per cent from March last year.: V# n! m3 O7 Y
1 i+ F9 f& M" n- kBut the average residential price -- including single-family homes, condos, duplexes, mobile homes and others -- was $343,760, 5.66 per cent higher than March 2007.; N- c; Z- H6 p" f
+ U. b7 E/ Z T, JThere were 1,557 residential properties sold in March with new listings of 4,236 for a sales-to-listing ratio of 37 per cent. Homes spent 51 days on the market, down one day from last month.7 N: G( b3 t0 G$ N: C0 F! F4 K
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Total MLS sales in March dropped 31 per cent from a record-setting pace in March 2007.' @& x4 O" p2 o; e& H
' ~# E" z+ j/ I* LMeanwhile, 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.; {6 W+ r& S% j8 t
! Z! t; f. L& `. o. e/ o9 \* bThe study looked at certain local markets examined and found the average price of a "standard two-storey home" fell 3.7 per cent to $363,707.
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* {9 V7 V5 e( J) E$ j) q* {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 $235,000, said the LePage study.! @! u$ G! [* s C
' P. Q2 N, o: f' f3 o1 BKen Shearer, a Royal LePage broker and owner, said debate over energy royalties kept house prices lower.
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+ O- e3 U9 S" }" h* C* Q; _"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.3 b; E. v5 K. D) T3 p' `) L
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According to the report, prices varied by specific market in the Edmonton region. Here are some highlights: X; |3 d* S* T3 G
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Sherwood Park: Average prices for two-storey homes dropped by 7.1 per cent to $390,000, while detached bungalows and condos were unchanged from last year.
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% e8 E7 V/ D. S+ i, @& m9 ~$ HSpruce Grove: A two-storey home rose 6.9 per cent to $405,000 year-over-year.
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/ y% ~0 J8 q0 ~& @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.
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Leduc: 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.)1 K; u7 f( u4 a
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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.
5 I7 Q8 h L6 QCastle 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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, G7 [' n) d, g5 GClareview: 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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