A closer look at the Saskatoon real estate statistics for August 2008
Residential unit sales in the single-family home and condominium categories took a solid tumble in August falling to just 212 units, down from 339 in July, and down further from 368 in August 2007. The average selling price dipped to $282,470 from $294,306 the previous month but settled in above the final numbers for August 2007 when the average price of a home reached $255,955. The average cost per square foot for a Saskatoon home was up $30 from last year to $263, about even with July 2008.
In the single-family home category, unit sales declined from 266 units last August to settle at 150. Average selling prices slid sharply from $322,715 in July to $306,095 in August but remained significantly higher than the $268,708 average reported in August of last year. The average cost per square foot managed to climb slightly from $268 in July to $269 in August, but the average size of the houses that traded was just 1,136 square feet compared to 1,204 the month before.
The average price of a Saskatoon condo continued to slide for the fourth consecutive month reaching $225,311, down from $239,952 in July and just slightly higher than the average in August 2007 when it reached $222,698. Still, the average cost per square foot came in at $241, compared to just $224 in August 2007, and $248 in July 2008.
See a Google map displaying the boundaries of Saskatoon real estate “areas” here
Data collection and calculation for our statistical reports
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Norm Fisher
Royal LePage Saskatoon Real Estate
8 comments so far. We'd love to hear your thoughts.
April 27th, 2009 at 7:06 PM
Also interesting to note that the average days on the market climbed from 13 days in August 2007 to 38 days in August 2008, nearly three times as long. As I’ve mentioned before, the popular method of adjusting the price of a Saskatoon seems to be a cancellation of the active listing followed by a re-listing at the new price, which in effect, sets the days on the market back to 0, so the actual figure is likely much higher still.
April 27th, 2009 at 7:07 PM
Who exactly can afford a $220,000 home? You must all be very rich in Saskatoon…
Or very in debt.
April 27th, 2009 at 7:07 PM
Hmmm…I bought a $260,000 home on my own and I don’t consider myself neither “rich” nor swallowed in debt.
April 27th, 2009 at 7:07 PM
I’m curious as to where you can even buy a house now a days for under 220,000.Where do you live Alex LaRonge?
April 27th, 2009 at 7:08 PM
One has to see the calculations of how much a lender will lend to a person, whether that is 35% of thier before gross income, or another number. I’m not exactly sure what that number currently is though. Reverse engineer that number (and payment period) and you’ll get the approximate wages people are pulling in, to make such a purchase.
Of cousre this only works for zero down, and for people that didn’t previous sell a house they purchased back when prices were averagely affordable.
Personally as a singleton, I can’t afford anything on the market, haven’t been able to for some time. I would wager today..besides people in careers other than oil etc, you need 2 people working full time to be able to pay for a house (low end) comfortably. People simply aren’t going to stay if the prices don’t fall quite a bit more in my opinion. But then again i’m just going by what i will do if prices remain out of reach…and move to somewhere with more opportunity, or where you can start a family without breaking your back.
Armoth is the exception at least so far beucase he’s proven to be a risk taker (a trait which albeit risky could prove to have great reward if it all works out).
April 27th, 2009 at 7:08 PM
I live in La Ronge and you cant get a decent house here for under 220k now. This is absolutely unbelievable with over 1500 houses for sale in Saskatoon and everyone knowing the market is inflated all the greedy real estate agents let people believe that these houses are really selling this high when i hear that people are getting 30k under asking. The only way for the market to drop is for these agents to stop being greedy and start helping the people that need homes. If your a potential buyer dont buy and the prices will drop. If you buy you are contributing to a inflated market and if interest rates rise you will be in trouble on a monthly basis.
April 27th, 2009 at 7:08 PM
Response to Keith:
I agree with you regarding proper listing prices. There was a one bedroom condo in the Hallmark a week or so ago that lasted a whole 4-5 days on the market (isn’t the average 30+ now).
It was priced well – $164K. I’m sure that agent could have started higher and taken a lower bid, but pricing it right, from the start, got that property sold in short order.
April 27th, 2009 at 7:09 PM
well i plugged in the numbers to be able to afford a $260k home in the mls calculator and you’d need to make 80,000 a year providing property taxes were $3300 a year, you have no debt, and the heating cost is $150 a month. With 0 down that is. and at a 6% rate.