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Average price slips as fewer people moving to Alberta, realtors association says
* d" a# q3 m0 f2 UBill Mah, The Edmonton Journal
* t; H" V+ U+ x! x3 mPublished: 1:31 am
9 t* l- T* r# {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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2 n, d3 |' U6 q6 lFigures 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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1 x) x1 n" d1 ^3 q0 Z! w6 Z9 uThat'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.3 }; J0 o7 b4 f$ ^% C6 ?
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Association president Marc Perras said the inventory, about six month's worth, stems largely from fewer people moving to Alberta.% W" T' h/ U/ d# K5 K% S( ]
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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.
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2 k2 j; E- y% z9 r* d# T"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.: i+ d# b! F2 ~3 ~: g' g2 x2 h
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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.' z, j c0 ^/ i
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"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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3 v1 b( q q5 ]1 V0 s& u/ \& qA single-family home sold in March for an average price of $387,632, down 2.7 per cent from March last year.
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9 N/ D! H$ |1 |4 ^. y2 wBut the average residential price -- including single-family homes, condos, duplexes, mobile homes and others -- was $343,760, 5.66 per cent higher than March 2007.$ v$ U$ D& K3 l3 @
& _5 |" s7 Q& v B0 ]- AThere 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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3 [# R/ E* `1 M/ H+ a( WTotal 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." `! C8 i4 Z+ c! I9 i" @# u
& H6 {% w4 Z0 `/ D, GThe study looked at certain local markets examined and found the average price of a "standard two-storey home" fell 3.7 per cent to $363,707.0 Y2 q: |1 W2 X$ y* n' i2 j) X# p
, r8 b {& E7 n% @6 m8 YThe 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., Q3 }( n! ~" c" K8 g7 {
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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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- Q9 k: h! s4 |1 N# E5 z"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.0 }. j2 V7 y. ?: K. N
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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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# z7 M1 Q: Q: Y N( r' nSherwood Park: Average prices for two-storey homes dropped by 7.1 per cent to $390,000, while detached bungalows and condos were unchanged from last year.
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5 G( @# l8 |$ C4 |4 ~Spruce Grove: A two-storey home rose 6.9 per cent to $405,000 year-over-year.
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. B. B! E' z+ P' s* Y' y3 c. rRiverbend/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. q& W3 L- h5 \' x
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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.)* K4 w1 t" y1 j: [( @* `
( s+ P: w* z8 j# ~St. Albert: The average price of a two-storey home fell by 12.8 per cent to $340,000 while detached bungalows dropped by 12.3 per cent and condos by 13.3 per cent.
" \, c* J; l$ K" H! rCastle 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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; t/ y% y! W' d1 ]' x/ p/ Y, UClareview: 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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