New listing activity in the Saskatoon real estate market slowed some this week with just 134 new properties added to the MLS in the “houses and condos” categories but the active inventory continued to make some gains climbing from 1,628 last week to 1,667 by the close of business this week. Today, there are a total of 1,067 Saskatoon houses and 488 condominiums showing an active status on our system.
Sales continued at a rather lackluster pace with just 56 units placing a sold sign including 54 houses and condos. As of today, total residential sales for the month of August sit at just 169. Last August produced 398 sales so we have some serious ground to make up during the last week of the month. Unless something amazing happens next week it seems clear that sales will be much softer this August than they have been for a few years.
The average selling price of a home in Saskatoon bounced back a bit from last week to finish at $276,320, about $6,500 higher than last week but still the second lowest average since the week of March 10-14.
My thanks to Pam for crunching the numbers and producing the graphic for this week’s review. You’re handling things like a real pro and I’m proud to have you on my team. Thanks for looking after things while I’m away.
I'm always happy to answer your Saskatoon real estate questions. Feel free to drop me an email.
Norm Fisher
Royal LePage Saskatoon Real Estate
New listing activity in the Saskatoon real estate market picked up again as the local MLS system welcomed 165 new listings including 157 properties in the single-family homes and condo categories. Total active listings pushed further forward and finished the week at 1,628, up significantly from 1,555 last week. At the close of business Friday there were 1,047 houses and 469 condominiums still looking for a buyer.
A total of 61 properties changed hands, up sharply from last week’s poor performance but still below the numbers that we might expect at this time of year. 58 of the 59 houses and condos which sold recorded sale prices below the asking price and overbid sales where nowhere to be found for the first time this year. The average underbid remained consistent with recent weeks.
The average selling price of recorded sales came in at just $269,802 taking a huge dip from the monster number recorded last week to finish the week at its lowest level since the week of March 10-14.
Many of this week’s sales produced fairly strong numbers but some of them stand out as better buys, at least in comparison to where they may have sold a few months ago.
Notable sales.
- 864’ bungalow in East College Park with a single garage sells for $249,000.
- 1,768’ Erindale two-storey split with a double garage trades at $410,000.
- 882’ condo in Forest Grove sells at $176,000.
- 875’ condo at Lakeshore Estates in Lakeview brings $180,000.
- 1,148’ Silverwood bungalow with a single garage goes for $310,000.
- 864’ Confederation Park bungalow with a single garage sells for $229,600.
Trish and I will be away on vacation through September 1. The “Week in Review” will continue through that time but that will likely be the extent of my involvement during that time. My assistant Pam will be moderating comments. Please take it easy on her and do your best to avoid nasty arguments. J Once again, thanks so much for your contribution to our efforts. I look forward to joining the discussion again when I return.
Geographic boundaries of “areas” defined
Process of data collection and calculation
I’m always happy to answer your Saskatoon real estate questions. Feel free to drop me an email.
Norm Fisher
Royal LePage Saskatoon Real Estate
Looking at this week’s sales, you may have thought it was Christmas for Saskatoon real estate agents, and not in the good way. J Just 38 properties, including 35 in the single-family homes and condominiums categories were reported firmly sold, the lowest number of weekly sales since the week of January 7-11. Another 24 properties display the conditionally sold flag on the Saskatoon MLS system.
New residential listings were on the low side in comparison to recent weeks as well. Only 135 properties were listed for sale including 87 houses and 41 condos, but given the slower sales activity, total active listings found a new high point at 1,555. Of those, 1,011 are houses and 436 are condos.
The average selling price for the week spiked to a new high of $332,529 but the upward surge can be attributed to one residential sale that topped $1.1 million dollars. Selling about $200K off of its list price, the same property drove the average underbid to a new high of just over $18,000. Removing this one property from the mix brings the average selling price to $308,485, still the highest number we’ve seen since the week of June 23-27. The average underbid would also be adjusted to $10,865, which is more or less on par with what we’ve been seeing in recent weeks.
This week’s soft sales performance could be one of those strange anomalies that we see from time to time in the weekly stats but August is typically expected to produce above average unit sales and this gives us an incredibly slow start in reaching the numbers posted in previous months of August.
Geographic boundaries of “areas” defined
Process of data collection and calculation
I’m always happy to answer your Saskatoon real estate questions. Feel free to drop me an email.
Norm Fisher
Royal LePage Saskatoon Real Estate
After two months of sluggish sales in the Saskatoon real estate market, demand picked up some in July. Total unit sales of condominiums and houses came in behind July 2007 numbers (411 units), but slightly higher than sales in 2005 (340) and 2006 (337), and up just over 10% compared to June, which closed with 299 sales. Average prices in this category didn’t fair as well, falling nearly $19,000 from their peak of $313,109 to settle at $294,306. Year-over-year, prices in this category were up nearly 20% from $245,306. Average days on the market increased from 21 days in June to 30 days in July.
Any loss to unit sales can be attributed to the “houses” category as record level prices curbed demand. Unit sales fell to 228, up from 212 in June, but down significantly from July 2007 when 315 houses traded hands. The average price of a Saskatoon house remained up about 27% over July 2007 when prices reached $253,446, but slid from nearly $340,000 in June to $322,715 in July. The average cost per square foot of a Saskatoon house dropped $9.00 through July when compared to last month.
Remarkably, condo sales for the month of July reached 111 units, up from 87 in June and actually beating July of 2007 when 96 condos traded. Prices took a fairly significant slide dropping to $235,952 from $248,681 last month, and up just 6.5% from $221,495 in July 2007. The average cost per square foot in the condo category increased $5.00 suggesting that the units that traded were smaller on average than those that sold in June.
I’m always happy to answer your Saskatoon real estate questions. Feel free to drop me an email.
Norm Fisher
Royal LePage Saskatoon Real Estate
In a report titled, “Peaked: Canada’s market in depth,” economist David Wolf of investment-banker Merrill Lynch says that “Canada's housing market is entering a sustained downturn amid excess supply and as higher prices deter new buyers.”
According to a story in today’s Globe and Mail, Mr. Wolf is most concerned about Saskatchewan, where the doubling of house prices in Regina and Saskatoon over the past two years “has led us to estimate that these markets are now close to 50 per cent overvalued.”
David Wolf is not the first economist to make the claim that Saskatoon is overvalued. Scotiabank economist Adrienne Warren said it first in September of 2007. RBC’s Amy Goldbloom said it again in October. Both of these stories were covered on this blog and in the Star Phoenix. Seems nobody was really listening then.
The Saskatoon Region Association of Realtors responded with this.
Read the Star Phoenix story here.
Sorry, “Peaked” does not seem to be available online.
I have argued that prices in the Saskatoon real estate market have been out of whack with fundamentals so I won’t go out of my way to take issue with Merrill Lynch. I would suggest that it’s appropriate to keep in mind that this report is written by an investment-banking firm who makes the bulk of its money selling investments, and they don’t sell real estate.
This post is dedicated to Doug who would like you to know that unemployment is up, crime is obscenely high, incomes have not risen in Saskatchewan as much as they have in Alberta, Saskatoon’s population may be down by 2000 people, Westfair Foods is moving to Regina, SaskHouses now has 420 properties advertised, MLS listings are well above 1500 and growing weekly, MLS sales suck compared to last year, the average price of a Saskatoon home is falling, the price of oil is dropping, GDP was lower then expected last year, and “breaking your hip” is a real threat when living in Saskatoon. J
Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s talk Saskatoon real estate.
I’m always happy to answer your Saskatoon real estate questions. Feel free to drop me an email.
Norm Fisher
Royal LePage Saskatoon Real Estate
On the heels of one of the poorest performing weeks for Saskatoon real estate, this past week produced 84 residential unit sales, including 80 single-family homes (houses) and condominiums, the highest volume of residential sales reported since the week of June 9-13.
Total new residential listings came in at 155, including 139 single-family homes and condos. Overall, active residential listings declined slightly to 1,500 units including 976 houses and 418 condos. Active single-family home listings are at the same level as last week while a stronger week of condominium sales caused inventory to drop by 12 units.
The average selling price for the week hit its lowest level since March 10-14, largely driven down by stronger condo sales, particularly in area one where 20 of 28 sales reported were condominiums.
Underbid activity reached one of its highest level this year with 74 of 80 home buyers managing to negotiate some kind of a discount from the asking price, but the average underbid dipped to its lowest level since the week of June 16-20.
Geographic boundaries of “areas” defined
Process of data collection and calculation
I’m always happy to answer your Saskatoon real estate questions. Feel free to drop me an email.
Norm Fisher
Royal LePage Saskatoon Real Estate
According to numbers released Friday by the Saskatoon Region Association of Realtors, the average selling price of a Saskatoon home dropped in July, falling below the $300,000 mark for the first time since March 2008. Average prices through the month came in at $292,428 for all units sold in the residential category, down from its peak of $310,386 reached in June 2008 and just above the six month rolling average of $289,902. Year-over-year gains fell to 20% compared to July 2007 when the average selling price was recorded at $244,327.
The decline in prices can almost certainly be credited to increased competition amongst sellers. The average asking price of properties that sold in July was just $300,608 compared to $317,735 in June. Total active residential listings hovered between 1,400 and 1,500 units through most of the month, settling at 1,497 by month end. These are numbers that are near double the record highs that I’ve experienced over a near 15-year real estate career in Saskatoon.
The active listing inventory did show some signs of stabilizing increasing just 57 units through the month of July following sharp increases for three consecutive months. Inventory grew from just 470 units at the end of Aril to 1,440 units by the close of June, an average of 323 units per month.
Total unit sales finished the month at 348, down 18% from July of last year when 422 units traded hands, but up from the previous year when 337 units were marked sold. Buyer interest seems to remain strong if we can get by comparing overall performance to 2007, which produced unit sales well in excess of the norm. To me, strong levels of demand provide some evidence that the Saskatoon real estate market is experiencing a correction, as opposed to a crash.
Sellers can expect competition to remain strong in the coming months. They can take some comfort in knowing that demand remains strong but they must be aware that everything matters when buyers have an abundance of options. Take the time to prepare your home for sale by addressing potential negatives with respect to property condition and pricing errors.
By the middle of next week, I will follow up with our “Closer Look” which will provide an overview of activity and prices for single-family homes and condominiums in each of the five major real estate areas of Saskatoon.
A statistical history of MLS sales and listings is here.
Read also: Star Phoenix – Saskatoon house prices fall
Read also: SaskHouses Blog – Average Asking Prices Drop in July
I’m always happy to answer your Saskatoon real estate questions. Feel free to drop me an email.
Norm Fisher
Royal LePage Saskatoon Real Estate
It was just a slight push that produced a net gain of seven active residential real estate listings on the Saskatoon multiple listing service but it was enough to push the total inventory past the 1,500 mark for the first time. At the end of the week there are 1,506 residential properties displaying the “active” flag including 976 single-family homes (houses) and 430 condominiums. While inventories are at an all time high, it seems clear at this point that listing activity has started to moderate through July. I expect that when the dust settles, July will likely produce the smallest gains we’ve seen in several months.
Residential real estate sales also weakened some last week with just 61 units trading hands including 59 single-family homes and condos, a drop of 12 units compared to the week before. Area 1 remained fairly strong in comparison to recent weeks claiming 22 of 59 Saskatoon home sales recorded. Another 43 properties are marked “conditionally sold.”
Overbidding activity almost fell off of the map with just one sale recorded above the asking price. There was only one other week this year where overbids fell to one, and this week’s average overbid of just $100 is the lowest on record this year.
The average underbid increased to $11,763, one of the highest points on record this year but it was largely skewed by two exceptional area 2 sales, one of which sold $50K below list, and a second at more than 80K below.
Geographic boundaries of “areas” defined
Process of data collection and calculation
I’m always happy to answer your Saskatoon real estate questions. Feel free to drop me an email.
Norm Fisher
Royal LePage Saskatoon Real Estate
Saskatoon’s population has seen a decrease of 2,000 people since January 2007 according to an estimate just released by a Toronto analytics firm. Generation 5 provides population estimates for the City of Saskatoon between census periods.
According to the Star Phoenix, “The firm uses census figures as a starting point, adjusted by databases of consumer spending, home sales, and address information to arrive at its estimates.
Information from various sources suggests Saskatoon’s population grew from 202,340 in 2006 to 214,034 by the beginning of 2007, and receded to 212,000 by mid-2008.
Anyone else have any thoughts on how these measures could lead to the conclusion of a population drop, given that 2007 produced a record number of homes sales, and Saskatoon has been the nation’s leader for consumer spending?
Read the Star Phoenix story here.
I’m always happy to answer your Saskatoon real estate questions. Feel free to drop me an email.
Norm Fisher
Royal LePage Saskatoon Real Estate
Total active residential listings on the Saskatoon real estate market fell just short of breaking the 1,500 mark and settled at 1,499 by the end of the week, a net gain of 38 units when compared to the previous week’s end. A total of 175 properties hit the new listings board, including 35 that were cancelled and re-listed during the same week, and about 20 condo conversion units that went MLSâ. At present, there are 961 single-family homes and 433 condominiums displaying the active status on the Saskatoon MLSâ. The balance of available units included vacant lots, mobiles, semi-detached and duplexes.
Unit sales in the single-family homes and condos category came in at 71. Overbid sales edged up marginally from last week with 5 homes selling above list, but the average overbid dropped substantially to reach its lowest level since the week of January 14-18. 59 buyers managed to negotiate a purchase price below the seller’s asking price with an average underbid of just over $10,000.
Average selling prices took a large jump from the previous week, up just a little more than $12,000 to settle at $304,254.
Geographic boundaries of “areas” defined
Process of data collection and calculation
I’m always happy to answer your Saskatoon real estate questions. Feel free to drop me an email.
Norm Fisher
Royal LePage Saskatoon Real Estate
On July 4, the Saskatoon Region Association of Realtors released its monthly statistics for the Saskatoon real estate market. Those statistics provide an overview of activity for all property types in the “residential” category. This “closer look” is intended to provide an overview of activity for single-family homes (houses) and condominiums that were sold in the Saskatoon area, to the exclusion of semi-detached, duplexes, vacant lots and mobile homes. My primary focus as a Realtor is Saskatoon homes, and it’s my objective, through this report to provide detailed data on properties that meet that criteria.
During the month of June 2008, 299 properties identified as single-family homes and condominiums were reported as firm sales on the Saskatoon MLS. Unit sales were down 34% from June of 2007 when 452 homes changed hands. The average sale price was up 2.6% from May of this year, and 24.7% when compared with June of 2007 when it passed the quarter million dollar mark for the first time. At the same time, the average cost per square foot fell $5.00 from $276 in May to $271 in June, an indication that Saskatoon home buyers got a bit more for their dollar this June, when compared to last. While the average selling price was greater in May than June, the average size of the homes which sold, was also slightly larger.
Of the 299 properties reported sold, 212 were single-family homes. Unit sales in this category decreased by 35% when compared to sales in June of last year. Average selling prices increased 3.7% over May of 2008 and 29.5% compared to the same month, one year ago. The average cost per square foot fell by $3.00 on average, with area 1 seeing the largest decline, dropping $29.00 per square foot compared to sales recorded in the previous month.
Saskatoon condos saw a decline in unit sales of 30% when compared to June 2007. Month over month, the average selling price saw a decline of .7% and a drop of $9.00 when examined on a cost per square foot basis, with area 2 experiencing the largest decline at $32.00 per square foot. Year over year, condos experienced the smallest increase in the average selling price at just 12%. During June of 2007, condos were selling at an average of $221,958, compared to $248,681 this June.
Geographic boundaries of “areas” defined
Process of data collection and calculation
I’m always happy to answer your Saskatoon real estate questions. Feel free to drop me an email.
Norm Fisher
Royal LePage Saskatoon Real Estate
Media release from the Canadian Real Estate Association yesterday.
“Over the past six months, easing sales activity and a surge in new listings caused the resale housing market to become considerably more balanced in many major housing markets. Vancouver, Regina, and Saskatoon were the most balanced major markets in June.”
Read CREA’s release here.
I’m always happy to answer your Saskatoon real estate questions. Feel free to drop me an email.
Norm Fisher
Royal LePage Saskatoon Real Estate
CNN: The Federal Reserve is expected to overhaul lending rules on Monday in an effort to prevent another mortgage crisis.Good idea Ben! It would be foolhardy to encourage a second mortgage crisis while you’re busy dealing with the first one.
I’m always happy to answer your Saskatoon real estate questions. Feel free to drop me an email.
Norm Fisher
Royal LePage Saskatoon Real Estate
Total active residential listings on the Saskatoon real estate market saw a net gain of 28 units this week, increasing to 1,461 from 1,433 last week. A total of 194 properties were listed for sale, including 51 that made a repeat entry into the system (cancelled and relisted). Today, there are 943 single-family homes and 412 condos bearing the “active” status. An additional 41 homes are flagged as “conditionally sold.”
Sales of Saskatoon houses and condos were up about 10% from last week with a total of 75 properties hanging a sold sign. At the same time, demand was down about 37% compared to the same week last year when 119 houses and condos changed hands.
The average selling price of a Saskatoon home dropped again for the third consecutive week to $292,185, the lowest number we’ve seen since the week of April 28 - May 2. Most often, I’m warning about the potential for skewing in the weekly stats, but I don’t see that so much over the last couple of weeks. I think there’s little doubt that prices have dropped some as motivated sellers battle it out for a limited number of buyers. There actually seems to be a decent selection of single-family homes in some nice areas available for under $300,000.
Geographic boundaries of “areas” defined
Process of data collection and calculation
I’m always happy to answer your Saskatoon real estate questions. Feel free to drop me an email.
Norm Fisher
Royal LePage Saskatoon Real Estate
In a move aimed at “protecting and strengthening the Canadian housing market,” the Government of Canada today announced pending adjustments to the policies of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s (CMHC) mortgage insurance programs.
At the top of the do not approve list is the 40-year mortgage. Effective October 15 of this year, CMHC, Canada’s housing agency won’t be insuring mortgages with amortization periods of more than 35 years.
Zero-down mortgages also meet their end when the new policies take effect. All CMHC insured mortgages will require a minimum down payment of 5%.
Other changes include the establishment of “consistent minimum credit score requirements” and the introduction on “new loan documentation standards.”
“Today’s announcement marks a responsible and measured approach by the Government to ensure Canada’s housing market remains strong and to reduce the risk of a U.S.-Style housing bubble developing in Canada.”
Prior to November of 2006 when CMHC relaxed its standards, the maximum amortization period allowed on a government insured mortgage was 25 years and a minimum down payment equal to 5% of the purchase price of the home was required. Introduced as “financial innovations,” zero-down mortgages and 40-year mortgages added fuel to a housing market that was already out of control in a number of Canadian cities. Record house price increases followed in a number of Canadian cities including Saskatoon and Regina.
How do you see these changes affecting the Saskatoon real estate market?
Read the announcement here.
Read the Globe and Mail coverage here.
I’m always happy to answer your Saskatoon real estate questions. Feel free to drop me an email.
Norm Fisher
Royal LePage Saskatoon Real Estate