Edmonton housing prices steady, but sales dip during downturn

The average price of a home in Edmonton has remained steady, but the sales have dropped six per cent in the face of Alberta's economic downturn.

In its first-quarter market report released Monday, the Realtors Association of Edmonton saidthere were several significant changes from last year's first quarter.

• Residentialsales down six per cent
• Condo sales down 12per cent
• Eight-day increase in timea residencespends on the market

The medianprice of houses has remained virtually the same, whiletheaverage price rosea small margin.

SteveSedgwick, chair of the Realtors Association of Edmonton,notedthe numbers were slightly bolstered by the sale of two $3-millionhomes.

Condos have taken the hardest hit in the housing market with sales dropping 12 per cent despite a 16-per-cent increase of condos on the market. Sales of single-family houseswere down five per cent, and duplexes down twoper cent.

Sedgwick said the cityis not seeing the bigger drops asother areas in the province.

"While other Alberta housing markets are feeling more pressure from the economic downturn, prices within the Edmonton-metro area haven't realized much of a change,"Sedgwick said.

Over 1,300homes sold in the city in March,nearly 63 per cent more thanFebruary.The association said the average days that a homewill stay on the market moved from 45days on the market to 53.

"Every community has a wide selection of properties on the market right now," said Sedgwick.

"The ones that typically sit on the market a little longer are usually properties that are a little more optimistic or aggressively priced."

Sedgwicksaid that he has spoken to colleagues in other jurisdictions and that the Edmonton housing market is faring better than most in the province.

There was a 23-per-cent increase in residential inventory overMarch of last year. The last timeinventory was atthis level was 2009 during the U.S.-subprimemortgage crisis.

Sedgwicksaid it's difficult to tell how much of an impact the economic slowdown is having on the city.

"At the end of the day we can't possibly forecast what the different influencing factors for making a decision on a consumer basis to either sell or buy a property,"he said.

"[But] it would be naive to say current economic decisions aren't an influencer for everyone making a purchasing decision of any kind."