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Calgary ranks sixth as most expensive downtown housing- [ ?1 x# R [7 e; g8 H
UPDATED: 2007-04-12 16:38:42 MST& Q: V+ b4 Z+ |5 Z/ P- G7 ~
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More and more Calgarians are buying downtown homes but paying top price for the prime location. * r3 x8 j, s2 f7 d
, u5 _# B# K: E: O* q* `- D; Z! oPeople who live in downtown business districts in Canada’s largest cities generally pay less per-square foot than people in cities around the world and enjoy shorter daily commutes to work, according to a recent survey done on first-time home buyers by CENTURY 21. " F0 b7 k$ t) M1 X$ \
/ [, a; P4 [- p0 x7 j# dCalgary ranks sixth most expensive of 31 cities surveyed around the world. ; V. O' ]; q z/ o) j1 P: H
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The cost to buy in Calgary’s downtown is even more than settling in Toronto’s core which ranked 16th in the survey with the average cost running $209 per sq. ft. * q( d% i+ N' j/ w5 j V3 F& _
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George Bamber, owner of a Calgary-based Century 21 said it’s a sign of a city maturing and becoming more like Vancouver or Toronto where downtown is a place where people live and work.“You just get more real estate for your money outside of downtown,” he said.
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“To live downtown people pay for it.”
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! H/ q. S1 D; T' ?% cA condo in southwood for instance would run about $323 a sq. ft while downtown goes for about $500.
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0 k. |; R! X2 b9 J+ I" y5 X+ kStill Bamber said the interest in downtown living only seems to be getting more popular — a sign Calgary is “getting to be more like a big city.”
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Part of the attraction is affordability but also people wanting to buy in to a certain lifestyle, Bamber said.
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' S. x) @5 `% k* N5 q“People want to be close to restaurants and bars and don’t want to drive an hour to work,” he said.
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0 Y% K9 o% O2 s! p# bHe said 30 % of the housing market is condos - the bulk of which are in downtown. 6 W$ P1 H' v1 ], G
; L3 k. M. n* v- ^# @The survey showed Vancouver placing fourth most expensive at $577 per sq. ft. while Edmonton was 10th most expensive at $322.
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In Calgary, a typical first-time buyer would choose a one-bedroom, one-bath 500-sq. ft. apartment in Mission or Connaught priced at about $250,000 and a 10-minute drive or 20-minute walk to the downtown business core and the Calgary Tower.
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While those looking for life in the suburbs and a better bang for their buck typically see a significant cost savings. 0 m3 G5 \8 Y$ P6 c0 B1 A
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A 650 sq. ft condo in Southwood, Bamber said, recently sold for about $323 per square foot, for instance. ( l" ^3 u. }$ M1 q$ _6 [+ h
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- St. John’s and Quebec City had the lowest and second-lowest per-square-foot downtown prices of all 31 cities surveyed, at $55 and $93 respectively.— The two lowest per-square-foot prices for international cities were Istanbul, Turkey and Sydney, Australia, at $94 and $105 respectively.
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— Vancouver was fourth most expensive at $577 per square foot while Calgary was sixth most expensive at $500 and Edmonton was 10th most expensive at $322 — Globally Paris was the most expensive at $1,051 per square foot while London was fifth most expensive at $532 and New York was eighth most expensive at $375 The 10 least expensive downtown housing markets as ranked per-square-foot for first-time buyers are; St. John’s $55 Quebec City $93 Istanbul $94 Halifax $97 Charlottetown $104 Sydney, Australia $105 Bogota $114 Mexico City $119 ; E4 N4 e" Z& V, I7 m l' L1 w
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The 10 most expensive downtown housing markets; Paris $1051 Moscow $688 Seol $630 Vancouver $577 London, England $532 Calgary $500 Athens $375 New York City $375 Tokyo, $325 Edmonton $322. |
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