February 2008 record setting month for Saskatoon real estate: SRAR
This release came out today from Saskatoon Region Association of Realtors, Executive Officer, Harry Janzen.
Record Setting Month for Saskatoon Real Estate
Saskatoon REALTORS® assisted 367 home buyers fulfill their dream of home ownership. That number is up 14% from 2007 when 321 homes were purchased. The average selling price continues to climb as demand fuels the market. The average residential selling price in the month of February was a record setting $264,269.00 up 41% from last February, which in its self was a very busy month.
The six-month rolling average sales price is at $254,648.00.
The average selling price is derived by dividing the month’s unit sales number into the dollar volume of real estate sold for that period. The percentage change should not be used unilaterally as prices due vary from area to area. Home owners wishing to determine an accurate value for their home should contact a REALTOR® member.
Increased inventory was welcome in the month of February as 483 homes were listed by Saskatoon REALTORS® up 40% from February 2007 when 344 properties were placed on the market for sale. At the end of February home buyers had 369 properties to choose from as compared to last year at this time when only 252 properties were available for sale.
REALTORS® sold $96,986,000.00 of real estate in February that number up 61% from February 2007 when only $60,217,000.00 of real estate exchanged hands. Year to date $174,820,000.00 of real estate has been purchased up 72% from last year.
Residential real estate sales in the smaller communities around Saskatoon continue to be very strong with 99 properties being purchased last month that number up 21% from last year.
The average sales price in these areas also continues to climb with the average price in February being $218,931.00 up 37% from February 2007 when the average was $159,814.00.
Similar to last spring REALTORS® are starting to see multiple offer sales take place. The market is being fueled from many fronts, out of province and out of country buyers are looking to invest in our city and area. Local investors are more content than ever in developing in Saskatoon and area.
All indicators point to a very high demand spring sales market. New home construction is strong and demand for all types of properties continues to grow not limited to residential, multi family, acreages and commercial investment property.
I’m always happy to answer your Saskatoon real estate questions. All of my contact info is here. Please feel free to call or email.
Follow our daily updates on Twitter @SaskatoonHomes.
Norm Fisher
Royal LePage Saskatoon Real Estate
29 comments so far. We'd love to hear your thoughts.
May 19th, 2009 at 3:32 PM
“…assisted 367 home buyers fulfill their dream of home ownership…”
Is there any more detail to this?
May 19th, 2009 at 3:32 PM
Anyone have any insight into where all these new listings are coming from?
May 19th, 2009 at 3:32 PM
Norm,
Headline:
“Saskatchewan Rips Record Market Away From Vancouver”.
Todays Central Bank announcement will put a little more fuel on this fire.
May 19th, 2009 at 3:32 PM
Hey Norm,
I could be wrong but didn’t you sell a property @ 116 Ave M south a while ago? How much did that go for as it’s on Saskhouse.ca for $244k right now.
May 19th, 2009 at 3:33 PM
Alex,
No, unfortunately there are no reliable methods of tracking who’s buying but your point is a good one. These unit numbers include all residential listings. While the majority may be “home owners” there are definitely some investment properties in the mix.
Doug,
Probably some speculators cashing out. Certainly lots of condo conversion sales.
Larry,
Yes, we’re trying to buy a mountain range and an ocean and then I expect we’ll take over the world.
Northstar,
Correct, and it was a tough sell at 164,900. Though I have little doubt it’s worth more today, a quarter mil is a lofty goal.
May 19th, 2009 at 3:33 PM
How about this lovely house on Ave F for $249,000. You think for a quarter million the owner could have at least fixed and painted the fence. Maybe the next buyer will do this and throw a coat of paint on the house and sell it for $350,000?
I have to quit looking at the market. It is just getting too damn depressing.
May 19th, 2009 at 3:35 PM
Jason,
Let the market continue however it wants and abandon it. Use your presence and what unique skills you offer as your voice.
When I realized that Saskatchewan and Saskatoon were not interested in my situation and that I was meaningless, I took the hint and came back to Manitoba where people still matter…
Maybe after a while it will sink in that all this one-sided gloating and forecasting is all for nothing.
I can’t say it will always be good in Manitoba over the next while as greed sets in. I also am not assuming everyone is at liberty to pick up and haul out.
If you ask me though, governments are failing to represent the interests of the people and the communities.
May 19th, 2009 at 3:35 PM
lol Alex, I get the impression that you think that Saskatoon is like Sodom and Gomorrah
May 19th, 2009 at 3:37 PM
Funnily, in the middle of nowhere (won’t say where), a retired financial analyst discussed this with me July, 2006. He predicted the big crash in the States and figured that Canada would follow 2 years later. At the time, I didnt really buy in to what he was saying, but now, sure gave me food for thought in my purchase decision.
May 19th, 2009 at 3:37 PM
Hardly…
Most of the people in Saskatoon are hurt by this whereas in your fictional analogy, it was the majority of the people Sodom and Gomorrah that vexed “god” so.
What I’m saying is don’t let the city and the attitudes belittle your self esteem. It isn’t a worth it.
May 19th, 2009 at 3:39 PM
“in your fictional analogy”
You’re going to hell for that Alex!
May 19th, 2009 at 3:39 PM
I actually have an administrative role. I was seconded for the last 1008 years on a 1000 year project to post left wing propaganda on the internet.
I’m a bit confused as to why it is running on – although I guess most projects do. I wish they would get better BAs.
Bureaucracy
May 19th, 2009 at 3:39 PM
“When I realized that Saskatchewan and Saskatoon were not interested in my situation and that I was meaningless, I took the hint and came back to Manitoba where people still matter…”
So an entire province is full of greed and does not care about you. And the Government does nothing for you…
This is what my fictional analogy was analogizing. Im going to assume most know the story behind Sodom and Gomorrah. I was highlighting that you insinuate that this city is going down the drain, not that we vexed god.
May 19th, 2009 at 3:41 PM
Norm,
I want to recall my memory here that this blog site is a source of information about the real estate of saskatoon specially for those who wana come to saskatoon for investment or for raising their kids.I wont appreciate if some one like Alex (who has nothing to do with Saskatoon) should use this plateform and spread his message of hatred about sasaktoon and people of Saskatoon. My sincere advice to you in the best interest of this city,Alex should be banned on this blog as he is sending wrong signal to the people who wana move here.
May 19th, 2009 at 3:41 PM
“So an entire province is full of greed and does not care about you. And the Government does nothing for you…”
Not a single letter to Lorne Calvert or Don Atchison resulted in a conclusive response. Not even MPs responded. The best I got were aides, whereas here in Manitoba I can get a response from my local MLA, mayors office and premier within a reasonable (month to a month and a half, after all – they are busy) time frame.
Saskatchewan favors fair weather government representatives.
May 19th, 2009 at 3:43 PM
Norm,
Condo conversion listings – that makes sense. The city has gone through record condo conversions and these units are now hitting the market. I assume that would boost both new listings and new sales (as some displaced people may be buying). With all the controversy over condo conversions, I assume this pool of new listings will dry up soon. Are there a lot of units out there that have yet to hit the market Norm?
I have trouble imaginging a lot of units being listed by speculators with all the 20%+ forecasts being made and now that bidding wars are starting to take off.
May 19th, 2009 at 3:44 PM
There sure is alot of demand out there right now. Last week I went to the Dundee showhome in Stonebridge and they have only 4 homes at the time they could sell and a person could move in right away. I also went to http://www.warmanhomes.ca and they have 5 homes for sale, 26 show sold. Properties are moving fast. At some of the open houses, I couldn’t find a place to put my shoes on the rug in the entrance.
One thing I can’t figure out ( unless immigration is greater than we know) is that a couple of years ago there were only 5-600 lots being developed per year and supply and demand were in balance. Now, there are 3000 lots being opened this year (2000 last year) and demand is crazy compared to supply.
I wonder as well, how many people put off buying in 03-06 because of trips, saving money, didn’t want to own at the moment, school, kids etc. At that time, there was no rush in buying wheras now it has changed to where people are hearing in the media they may be left behind.
May 19th, 2009 at 3:45 PM
George, my conclusion is Alberta and international migration. We had net in-migration of about 12,000 in a one-year period to Saskatchewan and we used to have net outmigration.
http://creastats.crea.ca/sask/migration.htm
Even if only a half of those people are coming to Saskatoon (lets face it, its the premier destination), we’re still talking about 6,000 people. The city answers with 2000 lots so supply is still under pressure.
You could be right on the fence sitting 03-06 people, I met some Saskatonians who spent $390k on a house last week and they were just a young couple. It’s happening too.
May 19th, 2009 at 3:46 PM
Doug,
thanks for the link, never saw that one before. I imagine immigration will be the same for all of 08.
I found out out about another reason why trades and construction are so backed up and the labor shortage here. The rain and floods in the hundreds of homes in Saskatoon and area last spring would have kept many of the trades busy in a normal year, nevermind adding a housing boom to this factor.
My coworkers builders have not even started on his house yet and this is a lot from last year. The guy at the Dundee showhome said it would take 10-12 months to build. A couple of years ago it was 4.
Next life I wanna be a homebuilder or realtor
thats where the money is. 
May 19th, 2009 at 3:46 PM
AM,
I’m not ignoring your concern. Just taking some time to think this through and I will be back to provide a response.
Doug,
I think there are many more of these units to come, given that some 1500 were approved last year. Whether or not an investor decides to sell probably has a lot to do with whether or not the building have been vacated. There’s a pretty heavy cost to carrying them. If they’re financed the profits probably start to run off pretty quickly.
May 19th, 2009 at 3:46 PM
Dear Lord, Norm, please ignore AM.
Diversity of opinion is part of the great tradition of the internet — such as it is — and besides, Alex can at least spell ‘platform’ correctly.
May 19th, 2009 at 3:47 PM
Trust me. When I said I would take time to “think this through,” banning Alex was not an option on the list. I agree with your “diversity of opinion” thought and I am committed to keeping the discussions on this blog transparent and real.
AM,
I just don’t buy the idea that banning Alex would be “in the best interest of the city” anymore than I believe that a bullish attitude displayed by one of our contributors is going to cause a market frenzy. He’s been commenting here occasionally for well over a year and immigration numbers have never been higher.
Besides, if I start deleting all of the comments that I disagree with, the content here might start to get thin (kidding folks). Worse yet, it would simply become an online brochure with little potential to be helpful to people. My goal is to build the largest, most complete repository of Saskatoon real estate information. To me, the comments that we receive here are the icing on the cake. 90% of the value can be found below my sign off.
I hope you’ll continue to read, and perhaps even share your opinion when you come across something you disagree with. Thanks again!
May 19th, 2009 at 3:47 PM
You’re funny Norm…
Anyway, banning AT would make me smile, but censorship is a slippery slope and good on you for not taking it lightly.
May 19th, 2009 at 3:47 PM
AM,
I didn’t engage you on your point because it is Norm’s blog, but I feel I do have relevance here.
I don’t know at what point you started reading here, but I would like to invite you to read back through Norm’s blog. If you haven’t had the chance to discover this already, I will tell you now that I used to live in Saskatoon.
I worked and lived in Saskatoon in 2004 for a few months and met my now-fiancee.
We really enjoyed our time in Saskatoon and found it to be a great little place for new starts. Sadly, my employment situation didn’t seem as future proof as I wanted it to be.
I returned to Winnipeg for my college education as family and familiar resources make this kind of thing less onerous.
After completing my studies, I returned to Saskatoon in January 2007 with my fiancee and took a job up at an IT company.
I rented a $710/month apartment on the East side, replaced my rusty 1992 Buick with an ’06 Sebring…
If it hasn’t dawned on you at this point, the least I could tell you is that I made great personal investment in Saskatoon!
How did Saskatoon pay me back?
House prices ran off the tracks as soon as I got there.
Guaranteed rock bottom wages with laughably impossible options for raises or cost of living adjustments.
A freezing apartment unfit to live in (smelled of tobacco – I have breathing problems) and residential tenancies standards lower than I thought allowable.
Not a single layer in government interested in MY situation.
All this set in the backdrop of a swelling economy.
What happened after that was I remembered my roots.
I grew up in North End Winnipeg, which as I’ve also stated before is known for its left-leaning inhabitants. When all that clarity came flooding into my mind, I understood where I should have made efforts to be in the first place.
And no wonder. I move back to Winnipeg, get a job that pays a little better than what I had in Saskatoon and now I own the same car, a house and my future.
The connection AM, is that there is a situation other than the one found in Saskatoon that was more conducive to allowing more than tycoons and the financially endowed to own their home. The connection has to be that eventually Saskatoon needs to value the little people – who don’t always make for great newspaper headlines and ribbon cutting ceremonies. But we matter.
No amount of self-starter rhetoric and free market evangelism is going to change the situation for this very underrepresented strain in the middle class.
We are just people who see more to life than wealth. That view doesn’t invalidate wealth, it simply puts it at a different priority.
May 19th, 2009 at 3:48 PM
Boohoo, that’s one guy’s story. My story is: left Saskatoon in the 90s, did well in BC and invested in a Stoon rental in 2005. Have done well with that and continue to love Stoon. Everyone has a story AT, yours is no more or less important than anyone else’s. Get over yourself.
Aren’t you going to tell us your Captcha phrase? Cause everyone cares about that…
May 19th, 2009 at 3:48 PM
hey Alexander,
Im sure there are alot of frustrated people like you in Saskatoon.Consider yourself lucky your roots were in a different city.Where you had the option to move too.Guaranteed alot of would like to move but don t want to start over away from family and friends.Im also from Winnipeg originally and i seem to remember there being bidding wars and the like a couple of years ago.is the market that much cheaper there I bet besides the bidding wars it is pretty comparable.
Norm,
Thanks for having such an great source of info for guys like me trying to navigate through this crazy market.Im on here every sunday waiting for the previous weeks activity.Whats your opinion on a 3-4 month possession date in this market,do you think it would cause a substantial drop in “bids”.We are currently building and our possession date is nov.Obviously we d like to sell at the height of the market but renting may be an issue, do to the citys current situation.
Thanks for a great website!
May 19th, 2009 at 3:48 PM
callum,
If you loved this city you’d care about the community, not just come on here to brag about your Lakeview condo that has almost doubled in price. Do you have any consideration for anyone besides yourself? Try showing some compassion for others not as fortunate, it’s much more rewarding than stroking your own ego.
Craig,
Winnipeg IS more affordable than Saskatoon, read the Demographia report. Winnipeg is also more than DOUBLE Saskatoon’s population which contradicts the theory the bigger the city the larger the price tag. The city of Saskatoon is screwing itself, our affordability does not need to declining so rapidly.
May 19th, 2009 at 3:49 PM
Craig,
Thanks for the kind feedback.
First of all, this is all guessing and speculation.
I don’t think I would check into a rental. I’d stay right there until I moved to my new home. Your gaining equity on both ends right now. Could make a huge difference for you by the time you settle into the new place.
3-4 months should not be too big a problem (probably closer to 3), unless inventory increase sharply by that time. We’ll probably be through the lining up to “bid” stuff by that time but I suspect that your property will still be readily marketable at a price which is attractive to you.
May 19th, 2009 at 3:49 PM
Callum, your sentiment is more that of a bully than someone presenting a well thought out opinion.
You are a poster child for greed and arrogance heckling the way you do. As far as I’m concerned you are a very small and insecure person who got lucky – nothing more, nothing less.
Again, consider your wording. You bring nothing to the table but resentment. Others appear to agree with me on this as well…