Saskatoon real estate week in review: July 19-23 2010
Sales of single-family detached homes (houses) and condos showed some strength this week as Saskatoon real estate agents reported eighty-eight firm sales across all areas of the city, a gain of fourteen compared to the previous week, but short of last year’s performance by ten units.
While unit sales pushed higher, new listings moved in the opposite direction for the second consecutive week. Agents brought seventy-seven single-family homes and thirty-three condominium listings to the Saskatoon Multiple Listing Service® this week for a total of 110 new listings, down five properties from last week, but up eight from the same period last year. Still, this was one of the three slowest weeks for new listings since late March when the spring rush really began.
Click the image for a larger version of the graph.
The active inventory of Saskatoon real estate listings continued to show some stubbornness maintaining a near straight line since delivering its first significant drop for the year at the close of June. This morning, there are 1368 active listings in the residential category of the Saskatoon MLS®, a drop of just six compared to last week and higher than it was at this time in 2009 when buyers had 1290 properties to choose from. This morning, buyers will find a selection of 808 single-family homes and 479 condominiums for sale. The balance of the inventory is made up of semi-detached homes, duplexes, mobile homes and vacant land. Most of the year-over-year active inventory gains can be counted in the condo category, which has risen from 406 at this time last year. At the same point in 2009 there were roughly 790 single-family homes available on the Saskatoon MLS®.
Click the image for a larger version of the graph.
Cancelled and withdrawn listings fell to just twenty-nine with sixteen of those immediately returning to the system bearing a new MLS® number. Additionally, forty-eight Saskatoon home sellers made an adjustment to their pricing strategy hoping to meet a buyer before the summer months are behind us.
Home prices continued in that up and down pattern that we’ve seen over the past couple of weeks. This week, down took its turn as the average price paid for a Saskatoon home tumbled twenty-five thousand dollars compared to last week to settle at $279,306. The six-week average took another solid step down dropping more than five thousand dollars from last week to settle at $290,315 and reaching its lowest point since the week of April 5-9, just seven thousand dollars higher than it was for the same week in 2009. The four-week median price of a Saskatoon home followed the other two measures and finished lower on a week-over-week basis by five thousand dollars as it slipped to $275,000. The four-week median price remains up by five thousand dollars on a year-over-year basis but is down by fourteen thousand dollars from its peak weeks in May and June.
Click the image for a larger version of the graph.
Overbidding continued to be a rarity with just two Saskatoon home sellers reporting a sale price that was greater than the list price by an average of $2,724. Seven sellers managed to get every penny they asked. Seventy-nine of eighty-eight sales required an earnest negotiation with the buyer bagging an average discount of $9,287, or roughly 3.3 percent of the asking price.
Click the image for a larger version of the chart.
Highlights from the news this week
Weather to have ‘significant impact’ on Saskatchewan’s economic growth in 2010
Office vacancy rate falls (local)
Bank of Canada ratchets down growth forecast
Inflation rate slows in June
Bank of Canada raises interest rates
EI numbers rise in Saskatoon and Regina (local)
Out of town: Nine country knockouts
A map displaying the boundaries of Saskatoon real estate areas is here.
An overview of data collection and calculation practices for our statistical reports is 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.
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Norm Fisher
Royal LePage Saskatoon Real Estate
16 comments so far. We'd love to hear your thoughts.
July 25th, 2010 at 2:02 PM
Norm,
I wonder what the normal unit sale number looked like when the listing number was about 700-800 and what they were when the price jumped in 2007? Thanks.
July 25th, 2010 at 2:50 PM
Hey Cindy,
Here are some annual sale stats as far back as I have handy right now. 2004, 2005 and 2006 were years in which inventory pretty much fluctuated between 500 and 700 units depending on the season.
2009 – 3,822
2008 – 3,520
2007 – 4,443
2006 – 3,432
2005 – 3,246
2004 – 2,999
July 26th, 2010 at 9:43 AM
Thanks Norm,
Let’s see how the number goes for 2010.
July 26th, 2010 at 6:37 PM
Norm,
A family member just sold their home in Saskatoon. The new owners take possession at the end of July. Their lawyer says they won’t get the money for 7 to 10 days (around August 8th) because this is typically how long it takes to transfer the title in Sask. and the bank won’t release the buyers mortgage money until then.
Here in BC you get your money the same day the new owners take possession. I would feel real uncomfortable watching the new owners move in and still be waiting for my money.
Is this really the way things work in Saskatchewan or is my sister getting a “snow job”.
July 26th, 2010 at 6:50 PM
Roger,
This is indeed the way that things work here, unless it’s a cash deal. The delays are largely due to our land titles system.
Your sister’s lawyer has prepared her for the worst possible scenario, as seven to ten days is probably longer than will be required but it is rare that titles actually transfer on possession day.
Sister’s lawyer will ensure that all cash proceeds are collected, that proper insurance is in place and that title documents will have been submitted for registration before he/she authorizes the release of keys. While your sister waits for the mortgage funds to be advanced she will be earning interest at “the overnight rate target, plus 4% per annum” on the outstanding balance.
July 26th, 2010 at 10:38 PM
And that is why I love this blog! What a potentially valuable piece of information about the transfer of land titles. When I bought / sold in Alberta I don’t remember there being a delay. Interesting.
Is the land titles system here vastly different then other provinces?
July 27th, 2010 at 8:53 AM
Thanks very much Ginger.
I’m not absolutely certain but I believe most other provinces have systems that transfer titles instantly. Roger’s reaction is pretty typical of people who come from elsewhere. When I first started in 1993 our land titles system was completely manual. Hard forms had to be completed and a clerk would facilitate the transfer. People routinely waited 10-20 days for their funds. Five or six years ago, Information Services Corporation automated the system so that transfers are submitted electronically. I’m not sure why delays persist but they are more reasonable today provided that the lawyers submit error free documentation in a timely manner. Titles submitted just before possession (day or two) can transfer by possession day. It rarely goes beyond a couple of days now.
July 30th, 2010 at 10:39 AM
CBC News: CREA lowers housing forecast again:
“The number of resale homes sold in Canada is forecast to hit 459,600 in 2010, a 1.2 per cent decline from 2009… Sales are projected to drop even further, by 7.3 per cent, to 426,100 units in 2011.
The national average home price is forecast to rise 3.5 per cent in 2010 to $331,600, with increases in all provinces. The national average price is then forecast to ease by 0.9 per cent to $328,600 in 2011.”
The full report (link below) predicts for Saskatchewan a 4.9% drop in sales numbers year-over-year for 2010 and a further drop of 2.8% from 2010 numbers in 2011.
Price-wise, CREA predicts average home sale prices in Saskatchewan to rise 3.1% in 2010 and 1.2% in 2011. Both those numbers are middle-of-the-pack compared to other provincial projections.
the CBC story: http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2010/07/30/crea-housing-forecast.html#ixzz0vBTerCKY
Link to the full CREA report: http://www.crea.ca/public/news_stats/pdfs/media_july30rpt_en.pdf
July 30th, 2010 at 9:10 PM
Thanks for this lawtalkingguy.
I’d just point out that CREA’s predictions call for modest increases in the annual average, which would likely amount to a decline from the year’s peak prices both nationally and regionally. For instance, CREA’s forecast predicts a 2010 national average price of $331,600. In June, the actual average was $342,662. Provincially, they’re predicting an average of $240,900. In June, it hit $248,978 in Saskatchewan.
July 30th, 2010 at 11:31 PM
I suspected that was the case, but couldn’t find the CREA-calculated numbers for the year so far. Interesting stuff.
July 31st, 2010 at 7:59 PM
Hey all,
Noting that the current (July 30, 2010) CREA forecast for 2010 is 240,900 and 2011 is 243,700, I thought it might be interesting to revisit the last couple of forecasts. Well, okay, no one will probably find them interesting except me.
The links are below, along with their projections for SK for 2010 and 2011 at the time:
CREA forecast: February 8, 2010
SK projections:
2010 forecast: 242,500
2011 forecast: 248,500
CREA forecast: June 2, 2010
SK projections:
2010 forecast: 240,200
2011 forecast: 242,900
July 31st, 2010 at 9:24 PM
Hi Jen,
I don’t suppose you’ve come across anything showing year to date average prices, have you?
August 1st, 2010 at 12:50 AM
“come across anything showing year to date average prices”
No, sorry Norm, I haven’t. Since we’ve very likely seen the bulk of the action early this year (as opposed to later in the year in 2009) the YTD may skew high for awhile, I think. It’ll be interesting to see the July stats!
August 1st, 2010 at 9:26 AM
Did I read this right?
Feb forecast for 2010 nation sales was 527,300 units.
July forecast for 2010 is now 459,600.
Anybody notice that fixed rate mortgages are slowly creeping down while variable rates are slowly creeping up. The five year Canadian bond is now at 2.30. 5 year mortgages are on average about 1.25 higher than the 5 year bond. But the banks are not following that yet.
August 1st, 2010 at 10:02 AM
I posted other cities sales for June. Here are a couple of cities yoy sales.
I know I am cherry picking and the numbers are not confirmed. But the numbers are eye popping. Could be a big reason why crea did a revision on sale numbers.
Vancouver is down 45% yoy July sales.
Calgary is down 43% yoy.
Toronto is down 40% yoy.
Edmonton is down over 30% yoy.
August 1st, 2010 at 11:30 AM
Jen,
I guess that’s true. I’ll have to start keeping track of those numbers from CREA’s website.
Doug,
Thanks for gathering those numbers. We’re not doing nearly as poorly here but it’s certainly a different market than it was last year.
Here are some Saskatoon stats for July.
Unit sales close at 357, down 18.5% from last July when 438 properties traded and 6% lower than the five-year average of 380 units.
The median selling price of a residential property was $272,500, actually a touch lower than it was last July when it reached $272,950.
The average selling price of a residential property was $289,715, up just over 2% from last July when it was $283,422.