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.

Vancouver is down 45% yoy July sales.
Calgary is down 43% yoy.
Toronto is down 40% yoy.
Edmonton is down over 30% yoy.

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.

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!

I don’t suppose you’ve come across anything showing year to date average prices, have you?

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

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.

“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

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.

Is the land titles system here vastly different then other provinces?

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.

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”.

Let’s see how the number goes for 2010.

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

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.