Saskatoon real estate market on its way to full recovery: Remax
Remax released it’s 2010 Market Trends Report today stating that “healthy levels” of inventory and demand that is gaining momentum are moving the Saskatoon real estate market towards a “full recovery.”
Other tidbits from the Saskatoon section of the report include the following:
- While sales are still off of last year’s numbers average prices continue to edge up.
- Balanced conditions characterize the market overall.
- Rising demand could create a “tightening of supply” in the single-family home inventory.
- Multiple offers have re-emerged in prime “hot pocket neighbourhoods” but remain the exception.
- First time buyers account for the “lion’s share” of activity.
- A “good selection” of condominiums still exists.
- Buyers remain cautious, as do developers
- Speculation is virtually “non-existent” in the Saskatoon market.
The report provides market opinions provided by Remax brokers in 16 major Canadian markets including Remax Saskatoon. Read the full report here.
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.
Real estate geeks can follow our daily updates on Twitter @norm_fisher.
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Norm Fisher
Royal LePage Saskatoon Real Estate
10 comments so far. We'd love to hear your thoughts.
February 24th, 2010 at 7:38 PM
So Remax says the real estate market is strong…
Next we’ll hear the chamber of commerce likes the business climate in Saskatoon
February 24th, 2010 at 10:11 PM
Lol. No kidding?
I only read the Saskatoon portion so I don’t know what’s in store for the rest of the country but it’s always fun to look back on these reports from various sources to see how they did with past predictions. This from the 2009 Market Trends Report by Remax for Saskatoon.
The residential real estate market in Saskatoon is expected to be one of the bright spots in Canada in 2009. Given strong economic fundamentals and a positive employment outlook, healthy housing market conditions should prevail in 2009, with the number of homes sold in the city rising three per cent to 3,700 units by year-end. Average price will continue its ascent in 2009, rising just over two per cent to $296,000.
Turns out they were light on sales (3822) and high on price ($279,779) but a heck of a lot closer than most might have expected going into 2009.
February 25th, 2010 at 9:50 AM
“it’s always fun to look back on these reports from various sources to see how they did with past predictions.”
Completely agree, so I went back to see what they predicted for years before that.
2007 prediction: 3630 unit sales in Saskatoon. Actual: 4443
2008 prediction: 4400 unit sales. Actual: 3570.
And then as you mentioned, the 2009 prediction of 3700 units. See a trend here? They predict last year’s numbers. They predict (and I use the word loosely) that whatever is going on right now will continue into the future indefinitely.
That’s why in late 2007 — at the end of a year that saw housing prices go up 45% in Saskatoon — Remax’s prediction for 2008 was that average house prices in Saskatoon would go up 49% more!! Such an increase would have seen the average house price in saskatoon rise from $232k to > $345,000 in one year. A single glance at those two numbers should have told them it wasn’t feasible; that nobody thought to do so does not engender confidence.
Anyone can predict that a straight line will continue going straight… and most of the time they’ll be right. This is hardly analysis or science, though, and it’s not really useful information. What people want to know in order to make useful decisions is when the straight line is going to curve — in either direction. Unfortunately, that requires precognition … or a whole lot of careful analysis. Sorry, but I don’t see any evidence of either one in the ReMax ‘predictions’.
On a (far) more positive note… I saw your comment that you had figured out how to put the # of comments on the front page… yay! Thx for following up on this, Norm. Attention to small details like that is what brings you your success. Keep it up!
February 25th, 2010 at 10:15 AM
Remax’s prediction for 2008 was that average house prices in Saskatoon would go up 49% more!!
No way! I don’t recall any such prediction being made. Can you direct me to the source?
This is not a club that is exclusive to Remax. Most of these predictions fall flat, though again, I have to say that the bulls had a bit better luck in 2009 than the bears did, for sure.
February 25th, 2010 at 12:04 PM
Can someone please help me out here. I’m a Saskatransplant who’s been living in Red Deer for coming on 10 years now. We love it here and were able to get in before the boom. Now we’re been toying with the idea of a possible move back to S’toon for family reasons for a couple years now, but were put off initially due to the crazy spike in house prices you had back in 2007. We keep looking at the possibility, but there are a number of factors outside of simply overpaying for a house in Saskatoon that are also contributing to our reluctance to push ahead with this big change. Am I wrong, or are the following points not also going to count against us moving back.
1. Higher tax rates = less take home pay= less money to pay for expensive house
2. Lower average salaries than Alberta
3. PST
4. Higher property taxes – much higher than Red Deer I believe (what are you looking at on a $470,000 house in S’toon?)
5. Higher energy costs
If this is all true, and I believe it is, then we’re facing yet another hurdle when looking at the cost of moving back to S’toon. Oh, and I’ve gotten use to not freezing my arse off in the winter as well, so that’s a tough pill to swallow. If anyone has any thoughts, please let me know. It would be nice to cheer for the Riders at home again.
February 25th, 2010 at 12:33 PM
Alright, I’m not too proud to say… “%$#@! I mean… oops!”
In writing the original above, I went googling for the words remax “housing market outlook 2008″ and nowhere could I find the actual report. Lots of other ones, but not that one. I did, however, find several people (like http://www.realestateblogs.ca/post/11/58) who referenced the report, and they all said the following:
By year-end, housing values across the country are expected to shatter existing records. Serious double-digit increases in average price are forecasted for Saskatoon (49), Edmonton (31.5), Regina (21), Calgary (20), Sudbury (20), Kelowna (19.5) Saint John (17), St. John’s (12), and Greater Vancouver (10).
Without context, I failed to recognize was that ‘year-end’ in the above story was referring to 2007 — namely, the year that the report was written in, and not the prediction year. The word ‘forecasting’ threw me off… after all, is this not a document devoted to forecasting? Sigh…
In writing this response, I googled again with the same phrase — only this time I managed to uncover the actual report. (No idea why I couldn’t find it the first time…) The documented predictions for Saskatoon are:
In 2008, the residential real estate market in Saskatoon is expected [...] to climb another four per cent….
Hmm… where have I seen that before? Oh right — in the 2007 prediction! A four per cent increase is projected for 2007… This in the same paragraph where they remark on Saskatoon’s low cost compared to other mid-west cities, and note a half-dozen reasons why Saskatoon is poised to take off. All that, and 4% was all they predicted… against a year when housing actually rose at a rate of 49%? Very helpful!
Norm already posted the 2009 (Average price will continue its ascent in 2009, rising just over two per cent….) and 2010 predictions (… [M]odest appreciation of three-to-five per cent expected.) Notice a similarity here?
So anyway, I’ll eat my full measure of crow and acknowledge that I screwed up in writing the original post. (See, Norm, this is why I value your site — the ability to get at the raw data, and not just rely on someone else’s reporting of same, is how you get the best results!) That’s what I get for trying to do research on a coffee break. I stick by the spirit of my comment above, though; these ‘predictions’ are nothing of the sort. They are broken records (4%, 4%, 2%, 3-5% … and always increasing) and a continuation of past trends into the future, and always trying to blow smoke up peoples’ nether regions.
(Yeah, I know I have been cynical in my posts this past week. Hope it hasn’t offended anyone.)
References:
housing market outlook 2007 – http://tinyurl.com/yhpqppm
housing market outlook 2008 – http://tinyurl.com/yhvpo74
February 25th, 2010 at 6:52 PM
No sweat Bookrat. Good to know that you’re not quite perfect.
Thanks, by the way, for the links to these reports which were both absent from my collection for some reason. Appreciate the follow up.
“Yeah, I know I have been cynical in my posts this past week. Hope it hasn’t offended anyone.”
It’s pissing me off a bit, but a good host should be prepared to accommodate a guest’s occasional grumpiness. You’re usually pretty sociable.
February 25th, 2010 at 9:36 PM
Scott – here’s a few ideas for you to ponder coming from someone who transplanted to Calgary, then found his way back to The Sask and could not be happier.
1. Higher Tax Rates (I assumed you mean income tax)- yes income tax is higher (and one of the smart people on here feel free to correct me if this is wrong) but Sask is 10% on first 40K then 13% on next 75K. Alberta is 10% flat… so in reality 1-3% is not huge dollars in my mind.
2. Lower Average Salaries – I went from a sales rep in Calgary to a sales rep in Sask with the exact same company and I now make more here. On average Alberta is higher, but perhaps its skewed by having those massive high end CEO jobs that jack up the average. I’m not saying you will make more (or less) here, but I am saying take a look because I never thought I would be able to make more here.
3 & 4. PST & Property Taxes – yes there is a difference here but Alberta has health care premiums, and higher vehicle insurance rates. Again depending on your personal situation maybe not as bad as you think.
5. Energy Costs & Freezing your Butt Off- personally I prefer to look out of my nice warm house and see a beautiful snow covered park as opposed to the dead brown grass and dirt blowing around the street that I had in Calgary. Also the life expectancy of my Backyard Hockey Rink was significantly reduced. The cold also allows for snowmobiling & ice fishing
In conclusion, it is my personal opinion that no matter where you live you will have pro’s and cons, both financial and lifestyle. I happen to enjoy the lake country, the backyard rinks, and being close to my family. In my opinion (for me) this is the best place to live.
We’ll save you a seat at the Rider Game.
February 27th, 2010 at 3:30 PM
Scott, I have to agree with you.
From a financial stand point, no reason to move back from Red Deer.
Not to add that for many mature/good drivers, insurance about the same.
Plus no sales tax, cheaper income/property tax in Alberta.
And let’s not forget kids from Alberta score higher on math/science/english than saskatchewan.
I moved to Regina as higher paying jobs and cheaper housing here than Saskatoon.
That said, if Saskatoon is home, with family you can’t put a price on it.
Though if you could, apparently that price is higher than Red Deer.
There may be other reasons to move to Saskatoon, but financial is not one of them.
March 26th, 2010 at 12:24 PM
Scott, 3 years ago we made the move to S’toon area from Calgary area right before the big boom here for the same reason you are considering it..family. We are now on our way back to Calgary area for all the reasons you have posted. It is costing us on average $15k more a year to live here. Plus the winters are a lot harder here