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Buyers camp out for condos
100 line up overnight for luxury suites  
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David and Blyuma Butler, who were eighth in line and got the unit they wanted, look over the model of their building at Century Park.
Photograph by : Ed Kaiser, the Journal   
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6 j+ h6 ~+ r8 j2 G3 X  Font: * * * *  Ron Chalmers, The Edmonton Journal
Published: Sunday, September 24, 2006
EDMONTON - Edmonton's red-hot real estate market lured buyers to line up overnight for a chance to pay up to $791,000 for a luxury condo at the new Century Park development.

! K. ^( p: x* L: ?The scramble was unmatched in recent memory -- as was the sale Saturday of all 131 available units in only six hours.
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"We sold out buildings in three weeks, in 1975," said veteran realtor Connie Kennedy, a condo specialist with Re/Max Central. "But never in one day."
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Nor has she ever seen a crowd wait overnight to put down money. Nearly 100 people lined up. Century Park staff provided folding chairs, propane heaters, coffee and portable toilets. In the morning, they served muffins, crepes, cookies and hot dogs, with upbeat entertainment by an on-site disc jockey.
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" E4 I$ s! }5 c2 g4 k"Everybody in the line was awake and chatting," said Herman Chow, happily standing in first spot.

Even in Edmonton's superheated market, such demand for high-end condos is startling. Condo prices here have risen 34 per cent in the past year, to an average of $200,644.
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In Century Park, at the old Heritage Mall site on 111th Street north of 23rd Avenue, two-bedroom units started at $393,000 -- the top 10 per cent of the market, Kennedy estimated.

( L+ @, p- K2 a; P+ Q/ \5 n" eAnd they sold as fast as agents could write up the deals.

; j5 K, q5 \* q( CDavid and Blyuma Butler arrived at 3:30 p.m. Friday, hoping to buy a two-bedroom condo for about $400,000.
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9 k  Q% t) P# U7 b" r; e+ XThis huge in-fill project -- with 2,800 units to be built in 21 buildings on 17 hectares over eight years -- will provide "new construction in a developed area, with the ambience of a neighbourhood," David said.

"We'll get a unit," Blyuma said. "We're not sure which unit."
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6 ]9 J) q9 m+ F  HThey were eighth in line, with everyone ahead of them also wanting two bedrooms.

6 W3 P# V) T$ c- g- uAnd 53 of the 184 units in the two seven-storey buildings were pre-sold, reserved for affiliates of the developer and contractors.
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So the Butlers were anxious, even with the good omen of winning an iPod as a door prize.

4 n8 D8 o3 v- `( ]0 G" hWhen the office opened Saturday at 10 a.m., one of the 25 sales agents told them their choice -- Suite 207, facing a courtyard -- still was available. Half an hour later, they had picked their colours and options and signed a sales contract.

" }. Q7 D2 |) g8 OThe event recalled a similar scene almost a century ago, when the Hudson's Bay sold a large piece of land north of downtown in 1912 at the peak of Edmonton's pre-First World War boom.
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People also lined up the night before that sale, with 1,500 would-be buyers in place by 9 a.m.
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They bought 1,431 lots at an average price of about $2,600. Many never took possession of those lots because the speculative bubble burst within a few years.

; u8 |1 d/ p! Y# b" Y) _# \3 wChow said he was buying into Century Park because it has "great amenities that you won't find anywhere else."

8 P0 X# a  z8 v) F# m) r0 }8 XEvery unit has marble bathroom floors, granite kitchen counters and floor-to-ceiling windows. Underground parking allows for green spaces with parks, paths, public art and a central lake.
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. o# Y+ e/ j# |: dGeorge Schluessel, chief executive officer of Procura Real Estate Services of Calgary, which is partnered in Century Park with Westbank Projects of Vancouver, said he is confident Edmonton is ready for such a high-end development.