Edmonton, April 4, 2007: The Edmonton Real Estate Board announced today that the average* price of a single family dwelling (SFD) in the Edmonton area increased over 6% in March. Single family homes have increased 16.5% this quarter to continue a trend that started in 2006. The average selling price for the 1,263 SFDs sold in March was just under $400,000.
“It is clear that housing prices have not yet peaked in the Edmonton area,” said Carolyn Pratt, president of the EREB. “The spring season is always very active for REALTORS® and we do not anticipate that the pace of price increases will slow until early summer.”
The SFD average price was $398,476 in March, up from $375,412 in February. A slight drop in condominium prices meant that the average price for all types of housing was up just 1.25%. Last March the average residential price was $220,124 and this March it was $325,339: an increase of 47.8% over the past 12 months. Condo prices dropped back slightly (-0.22%) from $247,266 in February to $246,719 in March. Condo prices are much more volatile than single family dwellings; dropping suddenly but rebounding the next month.
“There are lots of stories about the slowdown or reversal of certain American housing markets,” said Pratt. “But all markets are local and Edmonton is unique in that the fundamentals of low interest rates, strong demand, low inventory, steady in-migration and high consumer confidence are still driving our local economy.” The inventory of available housing (2,574 residences at the end of March) has slowly increased from a low point last May (1,857 units) but is just one month supply. There were 2,359 residential sales in March with 3,091 new listings.
The strength of the Edmonton market is also shown by the commercial MLS® sales. The value of apartment buildings sold in March 2007 quadrupled the previous March. The total value of commercial sales in the first quarter was more than double the value at the same point in each of the last three years. Total commercial sales for March were $33.2 million and $101.9 million for the first three months combined.
Prices in four surrounding communities were higher than the market average. Sherwood Park, St. Albert, Fort Saskatchewan and Spruce Grove all had average SFD prices over $400,000. Morinville had an average price of $320,600 down from $338,442 in February.
* Average prices indicate market trends only. They do not reflect actual prices, which vary from house to house and area to area.
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