Saskatoon real estate: Week in review (February 9-13 2009)
The inventory of residential real estate listings gained some ground again this week breaking the 1,200 mark for the first time since late December to settle at 1,213 units including 737 single-family homes and 395 condominiums. Last year at this time, total residential listings sat at 361 units including 189 single-family houses and just 133 condos. Over the course of the week Saskatoon real estate agents added 118 single-family homes and condominiums to the local MLS database. That number represents a decline in new listings of twenty-four properties compared to last week when 142 homes were listed, and an increase of eleven properties compared to the same week last year when 107 homes were offered for sale.
Unit sales strengthened some for the second consecutive week as sixty homes were reported sold, up from forty-nine last week, but down sharply from the ninety-four homes recorded as sold during the same week last year.
Click the image for a larger version of the graph.
Sixty-two Saskatoon home sellers changed their price over the course of the week, while an additional fourteen canceled and re-listed at a new price hoping to attract a buyer.
The average selling price for the week came back down to earth following two weeks in which the averages were pushed higher due to sales exceeding $1 million. This week, the average fell nearly $20,000 to close at $278,727. The six-week average remained stable at $281,811 when compared to the previous week but it continues to show gains of nearly $30,000 compared with the same week last year when it was just $251,804. The four-week median price fell $5,500 from last week, reaching $259,000, a gain of $17,000 compared with the same week last year.
Click the image for a larger version of the graph.
How is it that prices still appear to be fairly strong on a year-over-year basis? Is the average Saskatoon home still fetching $30,000 more than it would have during the same week last year? Technically, yes. Were prices actually up in January over the previous January as the real estate board stats suggest? Absolutely not and this is where “averages” can be misleading. The “average price” is certainly higher but it’s important to note that different types of homes are selling. In January 2008, condominiums accounted for a full 40% of all residential sales. In January 2009, condo sales accounted for just 20% of all residential sales. If you remove all of the “other stuff” like vacant lots, mobile homes, duplexes, etc. and just look at the ratio of houses and condos, you’ll see that condos account for 45% of sales in 2008 and just 20% in 2009. Let’s do a little math here to demonstrate the point. To make this exercise as simple as possible, and to demonstrate how this kind of a condo to house sale ratio can skew the averages, let’s assume that prices are roughly the same in January 2009 as they were in January 2008. We’ll use $290,000 for single-family homes and $220,000 for the condos.
You’ll note that the “average sale price” increases more than $17,000, or approximately seven per cent in this example on a year-over-year basis. In fact, everyone that bought a house paid $290,000 and everyone who bought a condominium paid $220,000 in each of the two years. Prices did not change at all. This is precisely the case for Saskatoon homes. As the “Closer look” for January suggests, the price of a Saskatoon home is pretty close to what it was at this time last year. While the average sale price is seven per cent higher this year, prices have not increased seven percent since January 2008.
The average underbid came in much lower this week at $13,438, compared to $17,018 the week before. Still, buyers paying a price within $10,000 of the asking price fell to fewer than 50%, a rare occurrence even in this tough buyer’s market. The seven percent of buyers lost in these categories moved directly to the big underbid categories with the $15,001-$20,000 category growing from 12% to 17% and the $20,001-$25,000 category growing from 2% last week to 5% this week.
See a Google map displaying the boundaries of Saskatoon real estate “areas” here
Data collection and calculation for our statistical reports
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.
Norm Fisher
Royal LePage Saskatoon Real Estate
58 comments so far. We'd love to hear your thoughts.
April 16th, 2009 at 9:56 AM
“The inventory of residential real estate listings gained some ground again this week breaking the 1,200 mark for the first time since late December to settle at 1,213 units.”
And so it begins Norm… If this continues to track similar to 2008 we should see a steady (and continued) increase in listings towards the end of February and potentially only peaking around the beginning of June. I thought your analysis was bang-on with the comparison of the average housing price in 2008 and 2009.
April 16th, 2009 at 9:57 AM
Jason,
“And so it begins Norm.”
I think it’s been underway for a bit now. New listings have been higher than last year for six of seven weeks this year. Unit sales have been down for six of seven weeks. “It” will become a little more obvious though as the active inventory starts to grow again.
“I thought your analysis was bang-on with the comparison of the average housing price in 2008 and 2009.”
Pretty simple mathematics really once you understand what’s selling and what isn’t.
Seems to be reasonable demand for houses and weak demand for condos. On the other hand, there is a huge supply of condos compared to single-family homes based on absorption so it will be interesting to watch this play out.
If condos start to sell again the average sale price will plummet.
April 16th, 2009 at 9:57 AM
Norm,
The condo market is softening up in most places across the country. I think this is because the speculators and flippers were active with this type of housing and they have now headed for the exits. We have had a real bust here in Victoria. Click my name and you will see a slideshow detailing the downturn.
A member of my family is looking to sell their house in Saskatoon. They, like many other people, are waiting for the spring. I think they will get more now but family members usually don’t listen to each other. :>)
April 16th, 2009 at 9:58 AM
Hey Roger,
Nice to see you again.
Your graphs are great. It looks like your condo market has been hit especially hard as far as prices are concerned. We’re about even year-over-year but with 10 months of inventory there are some challenges ahead. Our mistake was massive conversions. Over 2,000 conversions were approved in 2007. Total apartment sales for ’08 came in at 657.
“They, like many other people, are waiting for the spring.”
Many, many others.
Hopefully things will go well for them.
April 16th, 2009 at 9:58 AM
I agree, it will be interesting to see how the spring develops. I’d truly like to know how many sellers out there need to sell. I know a few people who listed this past year hoping to get a stellar price for their house – one person thought they’d downsize and buy a condo + a cottage with the proceeds. If they go the price they thought they could get. But they didn’t need to sell, and wouldn’t drop 25 percent to do it. Another thought if they got the high price they thought was possible, they might just rent for a while and see what happens. How many are out there that don’t need to drop to make a sale? We have vacant properties…. Norm, have those dropped as a percentage of total listings, or increased in the past few months?
April 16th, 2009 at 9:58 AM
Norm,
Wondeful information this week. I think the worst is ye to come in regards to condos and anyone looking to dump a speculation make be under water before we know it. It’s going to be an interesting spring and summer thats forsure.
April 16th, 2009 at 9:59 AM
Mark,
This morning it’s 488 vacant properties out of 1,210 actives, or about 40%. Definitely better than it was. If I recall correctly it was around 50% not long ago.
Wesco,
Thanks. I wonder how rents will play into the whole thing? There are probably some condos out there now that can be purchased for less than they can be rented for. Doesn’t necessarily make it a good idea to buy one, but at some point they have to start looking pretty attractive again.When that finally happens the average sale price is going to really take a tumble.
April 16th, 2009 at 10:00 AM
The other thing to mention is that not all the units from the condo conversions are listed on MLS. I’m sure of one set: there’s a small apartment building at the end of my street which went condo last summer. They sold the units unfinished, and painted the exterior. Their sign (which has been changing over the fall) still has three units listed for sale, but the only unit for sale on MLS is a private sale from a flipper — the two the builder has for sale aren’t on the MLS.
I walk past this building every morning, and I’ve been watching the redecorations, since the unit for sale is a basement that faces the street: I recognize the couch in the photos!
April 16th, 2009 at 10:00 AM
One more thing before I pack and catch my plane
I’m pretty sure that the rents will fall when all these condo units come back on the rental market: yes, you might be able to get 1,000 for a one-bedroom now, but I don’t think that rent will hold when the vacancy rate goes back up.
April 16th, 2009 at 10:01 AM
just a question, if there is 1213 listings why do only 1200 show up on the MLS search map of sasktoon?
April 16th, 2009 at 10:01 AM
one more question, norm the condos at 120-23st you have listed, does the list price include GST and PST?
April 16th, 2009 at 10:01 AM
jrochest,
You make a good point, but that’s also true with sales. For instance, about 15 units have been sold at the Mirabella condos in the past two weeks that will never appear in the sales numbers.
Have a great vacation!
New in town,
Realtor.ca does not receive listings in “real time” but through a data feed five times a week. On any given day there can be homes which have just been reported sold that still appear there as active, and new listings which have not yet made their way there.
Those condos – yes, no PST is payable on real estate and the GST has already been paid on these.
April 16th, 2009 at 10:02 AM
Driven down by debt, Dubai expats give new meaning to long-stay car park
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/markets/the_gulf/article5663618.ece
“Now, faced with crippling debts as a result of their high living and Dubai’s fading fortunes, many expatriates are abandoning their cars at the airport and fleeing home rather than risk jail for defaulting on loans.”
We don’t get thrown in jail, but does anyone know what happens here when someone defaults? The laws have changd so there is no more jingle mail right?
Axelrod: Obama Has ‘Solid’ Housing Plan
A bottom for US housing?
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123471581432090221.html
April 16th, 2009 at 10:02 AM
In regards to the U.S, this is definitely not the bottom of the real estate issues down there. I just came back from 2 vacations there in the last couple months (Las Vegas & Myrtle Beach S.C) and I saw first hand the shape they are in. In Las Vegas everything was dirt cheap and quite possibly under cost. In South Carolina restaurants that were open last year when I went were closed and had signs saying they will re-open in april, essentially at the beginning of their vacation season. People there are losing they jobs at an alarming rate and are also getting their salaries slashed. At one the golf stores we were at, an employee told us that they had cut their staff in half and that everyones hours have been reduced. It’s pretty sad down there and I can’t see to many people continuing to afford their mortgages and rents……
April 16th, 2009 at 10:02 AM
“Those condos – yes, no PST is payable on real estate and the GST has already been paid on these.”
Does GST only have to be paid once on real estate?
April 16th, 2009 at 10:03 AM
Here’s some news collected over the last couple of days- whatever Canadians may think of their banking system and markets, it appears the rest of the world is viewing it fairly positively:
Canada Stocks Lead as Barrick Surges, Banks Forgo Aid
http://tinyurl.com/ccgjhw
“Canada is beating the biggest stock markets this year as the global recession prompts investors to buy its gold producers and banks.
The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index of shares traded in Toronto has fallen 3.4 percent, less than stocks in the U.S., Australia, Spain, the U.K., Germany, Hong Kong, France, Switzerland and Japan. The median drop among benchmark gauges in the biggest developed countries this year is 7.1 percent.”
In Canada, G20 countries see the future of banking
http://tinyurl.com/bewrz6
“ROME — Canada and Spain might be the future of banking.
As banks everywhere implode, get nationalized or survive by shedding assets with alacrity, the Canadian and Spanish banks are, relatively speaking, soaring. Regulatory regimes that once seemed stifling now appear enlightened, and seem to have done the trick.
The Group of 20 nations has taken notice and are looking to the Canadians and the Spanish for inspiration. Designing regulatory and risk-management systems that could prevent another financial collapse is the goal.”
April 16th, 2009 at 10:04 AM
Potential buyer,
GST rules are complicated and one can often get a different answer from different people down at the GST office, so I’ll preface this by saying, “if the circumstances surrounding your transaction appear to be the least bit unconventional, seek appropriate advice.” When it comes to residential real estate, it’s my understanding that GST applies to new construction, and “substantially improved” properties (see your accountant on that one) but is not otherwise applicable to resales. I know of no transaction that I’ve ever been involved in where it applied on a resale home. GST can be applicable in instances where a property has been used to generate income (non-rental income). For instance, if I sold eggs and chickens from my acreage some GST may be payable when it is sold.
Crikey,
Funny that BofM, Scotiabank and Royal should all be flirting with their 52-week lows. Royal was $43 following the big crash and is now around $29.
April 16th, 2009 at 10:04 AM
George,
In Saskatchewan, the “Limitations of Civil Rights Act” would prevent a lender from seeking a “deficiency judgment” following a foreclosure if the purchaser is a natural person (as opposed to a corporation) and if the mortgage proceeds were used to pay the purchase price of a principal residence. I believe that’s the way it works, but again, people facing foreclosure should speak with a lawyer who specializes in this kind of thing.
April 16th, 2009 at 10:04 AM
Hey Norm,
Is $149,900 a good price for a 1 bed 630sqft condo un renovated in a concrete building located in downtown Saskatoon?
April 16th, 2009 at 10:05 AM
Norm,
Ahh, but it’s all relative, isn’t it? When you look at the leverage hangover of the banks, I don’t think the drop in “value” is unusual at all. The leverage ratios were insane: US banks levered cash to loans at 25:1 and liabilities at 33:1 at the credit bubble peak. The long-term historic average ratios are about 5-7:1, and 7-10:1 respectively. At UK bubble peaks the sustained leverage ratio was even higher, which is a large part of the UK banking meltdown we’re witnessing today. Luckily, Canadian banks did not leverage themselves to this incredible extent, but they’re still paying the piper, and likely will be for some time.
When you look at the “earnings” of yesterday- now that seems to be the mirage. Wholesale debt markets, leveraged structured mortgage products and insurance and hedging strategies made leverage seem safe, but those days aren’t coming back anytime soon. The market knows it, too. I came across this today, and it pertains to this issue:
The shopping spree is over for consumption-mad countries
http://tinyurl.com/cnsfyt
This was written back in November, but is quite pertinent to the banking issues:
Peak earnings
http://tinyurl.com/6nbah8
April 16th, 2009 at 10:05 AM
Stoon,
I couldn’t possibly say with any confidence.
April 16th, 2009 at 10:25 AM
We are headed for a period similar to the Long Depression of 1873 that lasted for 20 years. For students of history, the lead up to those days and our own days, are almost identicle.
April 16th, 2009 at 10:26 AM
Bobby,
Times are much different from 1873! there’s not way you can compare 1873′s economy to 2009′s economy?? I think 2009 will be a rough year from the States and in some provinces. Things should start to “slowly” turn around in 2010.
Norm,
Judging from what you currently see for 1 bed condos in the downtown area, can you say $149,900 is too high or on the low side for a un-renovated unit?
Thanks
April 16th, 2009 at 10:27 AM
“We are headed for a period similar to the Long Depression of 1873 that lasted for 20 years. For students of history, the lead up to those days and our own days, are almost identicle.”
Bobby – Please tell us what what happened to our North West Territory in 1873. Did the fur traders lose money here? I believe Battleford was our capital than as well so what happened to their real estate values.
Just jokes, I’m sure if you’re a student of history you will find a lot of differences though.
April 16th, 2009 at 10:39 AM
stoon – you seem to want an opinion, so I’ll toss a couple of pennies at you. If you do a 5 minute search on realtor.ca, there’s not much for 1 BR. There’s some renovated units (that look nicely done) for about 10 or so thousand more. And the work will be done for you. But new condo conversions can come with low reserve funds and poor management. Let alone trying to put together a condo board in a half empty building. The strength of the board and the management (as well as the financials in regards to reserve fund, etc) may matter more than renovated or unrenovated if the price tag is fairly equal to the renovations done. I think if you’re patient, condo’s have a long way to move yet. It may be a decent price (though likely not a ‘deal’) now, but will likely decrease in value soon. Perhaps spend that time doing your research on which buildings are new vs. established conversions??
April 16th, 2009 at 10:39 AM
Stoon,
“Judging from what you currently see for 1 bed condos in the downtown area, can you say $149,900 is too high or on the low side for a un-renovated unit?”
No, I can’t.
Sorry, I don’t mean to be difficult but I am not prepared to answer these kinds of questions on a blog. I’m fairly certain that my broker, my lawyer and the provincial real estate regulator would all consider it a foolish and reckless act on my part.
April 16th, 2009 at 10:43 AM
Potential/Stoon, Bobby is referring to the “Long Depression”, which preceded the Great Depression in 1873. There was also a speculative real estate bubble which spectacularly crashed in Europe during that timeframe. The US was hard hit; I’m not sure how adversely-effected Canada was (being a relatively new country at the time). Conditions (then) and now are eerily similar…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panic_of_1873
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Depression
http://chronicle.com/temp/reprint.php?id=477k3d8mh2wmtpc4b6h07p4hy9z83x18
April 16th, 2009 at 10:44 AM
For those that are interested, there was a very good episode of Frontline last night that investigated the current banking crisis. You can wtch it online here:
http://tinyurl.com/brybce
April 16th, 2009 at 10:44 AM
4 properties sold, $392k average for Area 3. That’s the highest average in the last 20 months, which likely means ever.
Some big sales in the north end last week, Norm?
(Based on the average sale price in Area 3 this year, I’m guessing that not a lot of condos have sold up there since Jan 1. Have *any*? And how many are for sale?)
April 16th, 2009 at 10:45 AM
Bookrat,
I will get back to you on this in a few hours.
Obama: Aid 9 million homeowners – http://tinyurl.com/bfdnb3
On Obama’s “foreclosure prevention plan.”
An ounce of prevention, no cure – http://tinyurl.com/b7mrx9
April 16th, 2009 at 10:45 AM
Bookrat,
Two of the four area 3 sales last week were condos. One at $400K. Also, a large River Heights house at $655K skews the average.
12 area 3 condo sales so far this year. 79 actives.
April 16th, 2009 at 10:45 AM
Norm, how’s the number of sales stacking up so far this week?
and…
“Home building to fall by 25%, CMHC says”
http://tinyurl.com/azk99a
April 16th, 2009 at 10:53 AM
CMHCs prediction for housing in Saskatoon 2009,2010
http://www.thestarphoenix.com/Homes/Housing+starts+plummet+2009+CMHC+forecast/1306168/story.html
April 16th, 2009 at 10:53 AM
CHMC predicts housing starts will fall 43% in Saskatoon.
http://www.thestarphoenix.com/Homes/Housing+starts+plummet+2009+CMHC+forecast/1306168/story.html
Alberta set to report $1B deficit (first in 15 years).
http://www.thestarphoenix.com/news/Alberta+report+deficit/1305834/story.html
April 16th, 2009 at 11:37 AM
Interestingly, CMHC predicts house prices to stay stable in Saskatoon this year. We’ll see I guess.
April 16th, 2009 at 11:37 AM
Thanks to all of you for the heads up on this story.
Here’s a link to the actual CMHC forecast for anyone interested in reading it.
http://www.normfisher.ca/pdfreports/cmhc-Q109.pdf
SunnyDay,
“how’s the number of sales stacking up so far this week?’
Typical sales. Strong listing activity. All of the details this weekend.
April 16th, 2009 at 11:37 AM
Norm, keeping us all in suspense, are we…?
April 16th, 2009 at 11:38 AM
Anyone building, currently?
I know lots are easy to come by, but what about construction costs – are they dropping too? Or have builders not caught on yet?
And the city was talking about changing the time frame to build after purchasing from two years to three – does anyone know if they did?
We’re currently renting after selling during the boom and are trying o decide whether we want to build or buy (not in a rush for either).
April 16th, 2009 at 11:38 AM
CurrentlyRenting, same with us. I think some great opportunities will materialize late in the Fall/Winter, or possibly even late next year (for both buying and building). On the other hand, once you factor in property taxes, homeowner insurance, maintenance and upkeep, and considering the bulk of the mortgage payment is in fact interest, renting is actually cheaper. And then there’s the upside of being able to move inside of 6-12 months.
So if Alberta has gone from a projected $8.5B surplus, to $2B and then finally to a -$1B deficit, how far in the red is Saskatchewan going to end up this year? From what I gather there’s not going to be much of a surplus/stabilization fund left after the latest round of government spending initiatives.
April 16th, 2009 at 11:59 AM
So, CMHC says prices are going to be stable. How likely are they to be right, based on past predictions?
Below are the amassed CMHC predictions for the Saskatoon housing market for as far back as their website will let me download reports. Column 1 is the report in which the prediction was made: (F) indicates a forecast price. (A) indicates an actual price.
Q2 2007 2008(F) $215k
Q3 2007 2008(F) $250k
Q4 2007 2008(F) $265k
Q1 2008 2008(F) $275k 2009(F) $297.5k
Q2 2008 2008(F) $275k 2009(F) $297.5k
Q3 2008 2008(F) $305k 2009(F) $325k
Q4 2008 2008(F) $287k 2009(F) $292.5k
Q1 2009 2008(A) $288k 2009(F) $277k 2010(F) $285k
Looks to me like CMHC basically looks at the existing trends and extrapolates that they will continue indefinitely into the future… not a very good analysis tool, really.
It’s also interesting to note that the 2009 prediction is the lowest they have ever made for that year, and almost $40k over what they THOUGHT the prices were going to be in their Q3 2008 report. Were we supposed to believe them then or are we supposed to believe them now?
So would you buy a used house from these guys? I wouldn’t. (If I had a choice, that is… that’s the downside to monopolies. Nice ‘work’ if you can get it.) This report is probably useful if you have a physical copy and need to start a fire, or for… other purposes. (I am put in mind of Churchill’s response to an unwelcome letter: “Dear Sir, I am in the smallest room of the house and your letter is before me. Very soon it will be behind me.”)
At least if put to that use, its covering would match the contents.
April 16th, 2009 at 11:59 AM
I’m afraid I’m a bit confused by your list, Bookrat… I’m seeing alot of forecasted prices, but only one actual.
That Churchill was quite a character! This is one of my favorite quotes of his:
“Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things.”
April 16th, 2009 at 11:59 AM
Crikey:
The point of the list was to show how worthless the CMHC predictions are — sorry if that wasn’t clear.
I scanned the last 8 quarterly reports and pulled out their 2008 and 2009 predictions for the Saskatoon market in each one — that is what the list is showing. Their seven predictions for the 2008 market year (I’d love to get hold of the Q1 2007 report) ranged between 215k and 305k — quite the spread! Reminds me of the old archery trick for always hitting your target: take your shot, and whatever you hit, call that your target.
So what have they said for 2009? Ooooh.. it’s going to hit $325k! No, wait, that’s what they said six months ago… now we’re supposed to believe them when they say that it’s going to be $277k. They shave $40k from their predictions in 6 months, and I’m supposed to have faith in their prognostication abilities?
“But be fair… things have changed!” Yes, they have. And the job of someone who is forecasting is to look at how they might change again. I don’t see that from the CMHA – I only see them looking around them again (“Hmm,looks fairly stable for the last little while…”) and predicting it will stay that way. That’s not *predicting*; in fact, I don’t know what that is. But it’s akin to trying to drive your car forward by only looking at the scenery out the passenger window.
Yes, they could end up being correct, but if so it’ll be more by chance than skill. After all, even a stopped clock shows the correct time twice a day.
April 16th, 2009 at 2:01 PM
Thanks for the clarification, Bookrat- I thought you were directly comparing the forecasted prices to the actual for each quarter. Now I realize that you were intending to show how the yearly “forecasts” had changed with each quarter… time for me to get more caffeine, apparently.
April 16th, 2009 at 2:02 PM
Jason – We love the freedom of renting. I like knowing that should we find the deal of the century, we can up and move. No stress to sell, no worries over not getting the price we need, etc. Also, after years of owning lovely but old character homes, I have to admit to thoroughly enjoying not caring when the first time we used the bathtub in our brand new rental, it overflowed into the living room! We’re so busy right now that not being responsible for home upkeep is a huge perk. We needed the simplification in some area of our lives.
I’m interested in what will happen by fall, as well. As it stands now, we think we’ll hold out to build and contract ourselves (and again, renting is great – no tricky timing to worry about in terms of completion and selling) in which case we’ll likely wait and see what happens next spring.
April 16th, 2009 at 2:02 PM
CurrentlyRenting ” I have to admit to thoroughly enjoying not caring when the first time we used the bathtub in our brand new rental, it overflowed into the living room!”
So When your landlord deducts the damage off your damage deposit are you going to thoroughly enjoy loosing the entire thing?
Just have to ask from your mentality it seems you dont realize you are still responsible to upkeep the home to a clean standard; which 95% of renters live like pigs and cant figure out why they loose their damage deposit when they move out….
April 16th, 2009 at 2:03 PM
As a renter who doesn’t live like a pig, I just have to ask about your mentality Brett. From my experience, 95 % of all landlords don’t care for their rental properties with the same standards that they would for their own home. Why then would a renter treat it with any higher of a standard than the landlord sets?
It goes both ways and must be so for the length of the rental period, not just at the beginning or the end.
I too am waiting for the right home on my terms.
April 16th, 2009 at 2:04 PM
Bookrat “Yes, they (CMHC) could end up being correct, but if so it’ll be more by chance than skill. After all, even a stopped clock shows the correct time twice a day.”
Too funny!
I’ll definitely have to remember that one, LOL!
Miss K
April 16th, 2009 at 2:04 PM
Brett, you’re assuming this was negligent, intentional or careless, and in reality it may have been a plumbing issue. I think the point was, as a homeowner, it’s *always* your problem (regardless) which either means cash out-of-pocket or an insurance claim; as a tenant, there isn’t the same level of responsibility (financial or otherwise).
When we rented we always left it in a cleaner state than which it was received, and always received our full damage deposit back (well, except for one year when they docked us $0.25 for a light bulb… some landlords can be particularly anal).
April 16th, 2009 at 2:05 PM
CurrentlyRenting,
Yes, the construction deadline on the most recent lots sold was extended from 2 years to 3 years.
April 16th, 2009 at 2:05 PM
CurrentlyRenting,
As I’ve said before my husband and I are building right now. We should be in end of April at the latest. It’s my understanding builders haven’t caught on yet, they’ll need to first be humbled by being forced to fight for fresh meat. This will start opening their eyes by summer. Come fall I’d think you could probably build for considerably less than the peak.
Whether or not to buy or build real estate, it all depends on where the resale market goes in spring. A steep slippery slope would result in better value for resale. With time building costs will drop, but only due to pressure from existing RE. It’s a good thing you’re not in a hurry to decide right now. Just sit back and see how it all plays out. There will NOT be another 2007 again for a LONG time, not to worry. :’)
April 16th, 2009 at 2:07 PM
Brett – How remarkably presumptuous and completely wrong.
The home is brand new. We are the first people to live in it. Having owned our own homes for years, we are far from “pigs” and understand pride of ownership.
In the rush to build during the boom, like I’m sure many builders, things were missed and in our home it was the overflow drain in the bathtub. Not remotely is that a matter of upkeep on our part, nor is it something that affects our damage deposit. It is the responsibility of the builder.
My point was merely that compared to home ownership, which many people underestimate the commitment of, renting is a relief. We’re a very busy professional couple with (soon) two children. To know that all the little glitches, the home maintenance, that sort of thing is not our responsibility is a worthwhile perk to pay for every month while we decide where best to spend our money.
I think that in the future, prior to generalizing most renters as pigs, you may want to examine who that opinion reflect more poorly upon.
Heather – thanks for that. I’m feeling about 90% confident in our decision not to rush (again, it’s a wiser decision financially and we’re just too darn busy to even think about another project right now!) but it’s hard not to obsess over it. My husband is in a real estate related profession as as we’ve bought and sold several times (and have been very, very lucky) we are definitely real estate junkies. But it’s a little scary trying to decide what the perfect time to do anything is!
April 16th, 2009 at 2:08 PM
CurrentlyRenting,
I’m with Heather D., and would wait to see what resales are going to do before buying new. Homebuilders may be more motivated than you think shortly. Congrats on the soon-to-be new addition, by the way!
The least surprising headline of the day:
The inflation picture: food is up, gasoline is down
http://tinyurl.com/bnma46
“So far, the United States, where the crisis began, is much closer to deflation than Canada. North of the border, annual inflation lost momentum again in January, sliding to 1.1 per cent in January, down from the highs of 3.5 per cent seen last summer, but still in positive territory.”
(Previous month in brackets):
Saskatoon 2.4 (2.5), Saskatchewan 2.4 (2.6)
In other news, Bank of America, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo are cliff-diving today (-17.43, -21.51, and -17.40 respectively, as I type). Anyone up for a US bank nationalization wager? I say they need to take BAC, C, GM, and F off the Dow. GE’s not looking too great, either. They’ve got to be dragging down the index something fierce, no?
April 16th, 2009 at 2:11 PM
Crikey, “On a month-over-month basis, however, prices in Canada declined again for the fourth month in a row”. To me that sure seems like an indication that we’re unofficially headed for deflation. Perhaps not as fast or as deep as the US, but following the same path nonetheless.
I’m *not* going to take that wager! I think nationalization and delisting are becoming more and morel likely as time goes on. Not sure how they’re still going to deal with the trillions of dollars in toxic assets, though.
April 16th, 2009 at 2:11 PM
Banks, yes. GE? no.
It is the only stock that has been listed in the DJI since its inception. It’s getting hammered because of its Finance arm, but it (unlike banks) it still actually manufacturers things.
If they take GE off the index, I will be floored.
April 16th, 2009 at 2:12 PM
“I’m *not* going to take that wager!”
Oh come on, Jason!
Ahh, deflationary forces have been in the cards for some time. I do get why they’re speaking of “disinflationary pressures”, but it does seem like a bit of a dance around the main issues, doesn’t it? I suppose the annual rate of decline in the CPI has not been negative year over year yet, so they can dance that dance a bit longer.
Bookrat,
Good point about GE actually manufacturing products (so do F and GM, however). The US banking system has given a whole new meaning to the term “manufacturing”, hmm?
April 16th, 2009 at 2:12 PM
Crikey, haha.
I’ve found it interesting this week that they’re now openly using the other “D” word (depression) in Europe, as in “we’re in it” as opposed to merely flirting with it. And a lot of comparisons are now being made with the Long Depression in 1873 as opposed to the Great Depression in 1929. In Canada I’d say we’re headed for 0% deflation before the end of the year, maybe even deflation. It’s all going to be very closely tied to what happens in the US; with a commercial real estate collapse looming and a potentially catastrophic hit to the credit card industry, I don’t think we’ve seen anything yet.
April 16th, 2009 at 2:12 PM
If I were renting right now I’d be waiting until sometime next year before purchasing. I think prices will fall.
Myself, I feel more secure owning my own home because I don’t have to worry whether the landlord will decide my dog has to go, or whether the landlord will sell the property and I’d be left having to find a new place in a 0.5% vacancy rate city. I also get to decide what I fix and when, as opposed to waiting forever for the landlord to get around to it. If you have a reasonable rent in a well kept place with a great landlord, renting is OK. With a 0.5% vacancy rate, good luck finding that.
April 16th, 2009 at 2:12 PM
We,moved here 14 years ago and bought our fisrt home 12 years ago in an area in Saskatoon.
It is a very beautiful city to be residents,and it is great newas to here that saskatchewan in general is still booming.
My prayer is that the Lord in his will bless this Province that he has created.