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Thu, April 12, 20077 T6 {8 }' U" F" w! x+ Q
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Calgary ranks sixth as most expensive downtown housing
- Q- V. Z7 O/ A- u8 q) A( VUPDATED: 2007-04-12 16:38:42 MST0 N n3 i/ T4 {0 N# T- q
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By NADIA MOHARIB, SUN MEDIA
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3 _) y+ v6 M/ f. U, T# xMore and more Calgarians are buying downtown homes but paying top price for the prime location. 4 \/ X* P# |. b! O
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People 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. 4 b+ w! n# D7 U/ R2 }
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Calgary ranks sixth most expensive of 31 cities surveyed around the world. 4 u& S4 Z) _- P& r. U# h/ C
- ^( O, t5 P' A$ GThe 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. 5 c( d: K6 J; G* 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. " I# F7 }; N" [
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“To live downtown people pay for it.” " O, J/ ?8 I; b/ r- M
# {# r* { h1 ~) A# O8 c: r: a+ fA condo in southwood for instance would run about $323 a sq. ft while downtown goes for about $500.
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Still Bamber said the interest in downtown living only seems to be getting more popular — a sign Calgary is “getting to be more like a big city.”
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Part of the attraction is affordability but also people wanting to buy in to a certain lifestyle, Bamber said. " z6 r# W' y6 Q% q& e( F
6 `7 m4 @$ G$ \1 q“People want to be close to restaurants and bars and don’t want to drive an hour to work,” he said. - T# r; F" I% }" d
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He said 30 % of the housing market is condos - the bulk of which are in downtown. - g& H% C8 _* M9 F, I
3 G/ z- s& {- I: _6 S' U; ~& Y- z; gThe survey showed Vancouver placing fourth most expensive at $577 per sq. ft. while Edmonton was 10th most expensive at $322. 2 r/ R! e& O6 P. u. c# k
* j' V) J7 A6 i, W3 a7 o x `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 $250,000 and a 10-minute drive or 20-minute walk to the downtown business core and the Calgary Tower. ( g9 _5 L/ L* C
6 N$ `1 t6 b: b. c sWhile those looking for life in the suburbs and a better bang for their buck typically see a significant cost savings. ) v( o2 e6 n: A0 ^1 v7 Y
8 D! y: {, ^& bA 650 sq. ft condo in Southwood, Bamber said, recently sold for about $323 per square foot, for instance. 1 x9 z; h. [2 X6 W# P5 D, r
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( R! T! p5 h( |1 H$ t9 P! ~- 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. $ ^4 F) _2 X% Y: O; W0 J1 r( X
; R, `: c6 ~4 L4 D— 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
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5 X, e( a1 \( j4 w. K& LThe 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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