 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.7 }. F' h, f$ j# Q
}( _; a v9 \1 O0 ]8 S“That’s a 180-degree twist from what we saw in the month of November,” said outgoing association president Marc Perras.
- f* N3 X3 G( h- p
) l" P J: X M8 @The average price for a single family home dropped by three per cent to $351,870 after remaining flat for two months. That’s $30,000 less than the average price of a single family dwelling at the start of 2008.( Z/ K! P; X5 O1 O
- T& f y0 I; D. ^
Condominium prices — which fell more than eight per cent in the previous two months — edged up 1.2 per cent over November.
8 l! O' X) z, d6 v: f# @$ |1 A; u4 e; @
Over the year, condo prices dropped 7.5 per cent from $253,270 to $234,286.
- ^: h3 g: N' l) [* S0 \+ W
8 b* ~/ X0 }( e( N6 ^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.
" f8 E' T1 N/ O) o0 }6 a3 k5 x
. V# A' C0 E6 J% Q: a- {Residential sales plunged by 29.1 per cent in December to 608. Perras blamed cold weather and global economic uncertainty.
. J3 I( H- n e# v1 e# t" n8 @% g" R% l2 U2 x1 }
“Who wants to tour homes when both your toes and your portfolio are frozen?” Perras said.1 f* F2 m& `# u; |" M) y; H( S# A7 V
: q, [3 T! p @" ^0 ]5 v6 U
Neither Perras, nor incoming president Charlie Ponde would release a resale market forecast for 2009 until a news conference scheduled for Thursday.
4 n) C7 T0 D- n! o& x& ?4 Z( |
# Q, R2 i- e; W0 SBut 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.
/ Z p; w# H0 `' z4 f9 R2 D- q& a. ]" k
The year will bring stable average house prices and gradually increasing sales, according to the Royal LePage 2009 Market Survey Forecast.; }9 Z% e p" Y1 Q9 E% q
: O& |+ f& D1 p! U
“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.
1 f1 ]8 @2 r8 `% z' W
, R C. @# c2 @: P& [. `. i/ PThe 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.9 I% U7 [7 `4 \0 l! i' y% |; p) c
The 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.# V2 y( g+ D# N6 @- w
' Q- Y; p3 z3 W' W5 e“Nationally, Canadian average house prices are forecast to dip by three per cent from last year to $295,000, while transactions are projected to fall to 416,000 (–3.5 per cent) unit sales in 2009,” the report said.
2 ?$ x2 T* w: b+ v9 T( E
' Z$ h; U) z7 f7 dMeanwhile, the Realtors Association of Edmonton will release a recap of the housing market this morning and a forecast of 2009 on Thursday. |
|