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Average price slips as fewer people moving to Alberta, realtors association says
P2 {9 t; ? i% l, V6 h, qBill Mah, The Edmonton Journal* }, M) Z8 W& c/ t3 `
Published: 1:31 am. U# T; _4 v$ ^+ g" [4 u7 @+ \
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.
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# `8 A' B5 F+ u; ~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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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.9 H2 N% H. f* A1 z
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Association president Marc Perras said the inventory, about six month's worth, stems largely from fewer people moving to Alberta.
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Net 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., u7 [$ n! I0 ?" o" z0 Z' J$ B
7 q5 R" U7 V+ E"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.& A( i9 x7 m- f. K. i2 s
+ [4 ?/ U" H$ f* [3 n) T SHe 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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/ _) H$ k, e# J6 x"Our sales volumes are similar to what we saw in 2004 and 2005 and our prices are essentially flat.
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D/ A2 P4 p- ~' I. Z"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."5 R0 ?& L2 n) r3 ]7 Q5 ~
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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.( x& ^, _( v, x* a
. ^4 o, h% B) T- zBut the average residential price -- including single-family homes, condos, duplexes, mobile homes and others -- was $343,760, 5.66 per cent higher than March 2007.0 ~- @! K: v( i! M1 w8 ^' Z
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There were 1,557 residential properties sold in March with new listings of 4,236 for a sales-to-listing ratio of 37 per cent. Homes spent 51 days on the market, down one day from last month.
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) @9 W; F( }' |( I# n. G$ wTotal MLS sales in March dropped 31 per cent from a record-setting pace in March 2007.
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, ~5 s2 n9 v: F! [- _7 P$ p1 EMeanwhile, 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 $235,000, said the LePage study.
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Ken Shearer, a Royal LePage broker and owner, said debate over energy royalties kept house prices lower.
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"As a result of this debate, the market has receded from the wild pace it experienced last year as buyers are simply no longer interested in paying skyrocketing house prices," he said.
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According to the report, prices varied by specific market in the Edmonton region. Here are some highlights:
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6 P, }% Z- I$ H) RSherwood 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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Spruce Grove: A two-storey home rose 6.9 per cent to $405,000 year-over-year.
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2 n# ?5 U7 C: ZRiverbend/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 $235,000.
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6 z( a0 C. M( I: Q$ ?4 W) o8 LLeduc: 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 $340,000 while detached bungalows dropped by 12.3 per cent and condos by 13.3 per cent.. L) v4 m+ @/ m$ K8 p4 e) a* o% X; s
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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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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