Saskatoon real estate: Week in review (June 29-July 3 2009)
Following what turned out to be one of the strongest weeks in the past two years, Saskatoon home sales slowed some, but managed to maintain a pace that is more typical of spring than summer, as local real estate agents reported eighty-nine house and condominium sales to the Saskatoon MLS system. This week’s final sales numbers show a drop of twenty-one units compared to last week, and a gain of twenty-three homes when compared to the same week last year.
Conversely, new listing activity picked up over last week with one hundred and nineteen houses and condos being offered up for sale, nine higher than the previous week, but forty-four units fewer than were listed for the same period last year.
Click the image for a larger version of the graph.
Total active residential listings took another hefty slide as the month of June closed and a few dozen MLS listings expired without a sale. This is fairly typical of any week that coincides with month end and it’s not unusual to see the inventory climb briskly over the next week as sellers make arrangements to put their homes back on the market. Still, total active listings finished the week at just 1342, down sharply from last week’s close of 1435, and ninety-one properties shy of last year’s number when Saskatoon real estate listings reached 1433. Active residential listings seem to be developing a downward trend declining fairly steadily over the past six weeks, reaching their lowest level since the week of March 9-13, and settling well below this year’s peak (May 18-22) of 1528 properties. Today, there are eight hundred and thirty-one single-family detached houses and four hundred and twenty-three condominiums displaying an active status on our system.
Sixty-two sellers adjusted their asking price this week and fifteen of thirty-one canceled or withdrawn listings came back as a new listing, most with a new price.
The average selling price of a Saskatoon home came back down to earth after crashing through the $300,000 last week for the first time in six months. It settled at $270,931, approximately $28,000 lower than the same week last year when it hit $299,301. The six-week average took a bit of a gain on a week-over-week basis, rising about $1700 to $280,204, down from $306,107 last year. The four-week median price slid nearly five thousand dollars to $272,300, down from $290,000 during the same week in 2008.
Click the image for a larger version of the graph.
Average underbids were down again, sliding from $11,393 last week to $9,973, but the average discount expressed as a percentage of the asking price remained fairly steady at about 3.6%. Overbid sales nearly fell of the chart with just two sellers bagging an offer above their asking price. Where it did occur, the average overbid was just $1100. The percentage of home buyers who were willing to strike a deal within $10,000 of the asking price jumped to seventy-one percent, up from fifty-eight percent last 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.
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Norm Fisher
Royal LePage Saskatoon Real Estate
11 comments so far. We'd love to hear your thoughts.
July 4th, 2009 at 7:15 PM
Hey Norm,
The Heritage neighborhood in Lakeview seems like there is quality housing. How cheap can you get into the area for, and secondly is their any property’s that strike you as offering significantly good value. There is a gated community over there that looks like pure dated quality, which currently has 1 townhouse listed with Remax , do you have any thoughts regarding this property, the complex that is not the specific listing.
July 4th, 2009 at 7:20 PM
Hey Norm,
It seems that area 3 really sums up Saskatoon’s average pricing, meaning that by following only area 3 you will have a close idea of what average prices are doing in Saskatoon, would you agree with that assesment?
July 4th, 2009 at 8:30 PM
“pure dated quality”
Lol. I guess they are starting to look a little dated. These homes fetch a pretty good dollar but there isn’t a high turnover there. There have only been a couple of units sold there in the past couple of years. The large bungalows are particularly appealing to affluent seniors seeking a little more freedom from exterior upkeep. Well maintained, pretty secure and some nice amenities like a putting green, tennis court and a pool.
How cheap can you get into the area for?
There’s an 1122 square foot bungalow style townhome with a single garage and a full basement available at 636 for 299.9.
“by following only area 3 you will have a close idea of what average prices are doing in Saskatoon, would you agree with that assesment?”
I don’t think I would agree with that Rick. Area 3 is given to fairly large price swings, and I would suggest that it could be the most challenging of the five areas to guage by “averages.” I find that it’s more about property type than anything. In other words, a 1000 square foot bungalow in area 1, 2 or 3 has been impacted roughly the same percentage amount (10%), and a 2000 square foot two storey has also come down about the same percentage (15%) regardless of where it’s located.
July 6th, 2009 at 9:31 PM
pretty quiet here
A few links
Debt tripping up Canadians
http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/660165
Crude oil’s rally built on house of cards http://www.financialpost.com/news-sectors/story.html?id=1757188
Housing sales soar in Ontario’s biggest cities
http://www.financialpost.com/story.html?id=1764824
July 7th, 2009 at 9:19 AM
Budget office urges GST hike to curb deficit
http://www.financialpost.com/news-sectors/story.html?id=1764018
“… the combined federal deficits that began last year will total $159.3- billion by 2014 — a hole much deeper than the current predictions of $103.5-billion from the Finance Department.”
July 7th, 2009 at 10:44 AM
30 sales averaging $328k yesterday? Someone must have bought something big, methinks.
July 7th, 2009 at 11:04 AM
Bookrat,
you don’t read the papers much do you? The housing slump is over. Real estate only goes up. This is only the beginning. Buy now or forever be priced out.
(warning: forever can mean a couple of years)
July 7th, 2009 at 11:29 AM
Bookrat,
Yes, there was an 850K sale in those numbers. Oddly, there was an 875K in Friday’s numbers which only produced a $268 average.
George,
Apparently, house prices really can fall, and Royal LePage is reporting some hefty declines through out Western Canada today. It should come as no surprise that sales are strong given the ridiculous interest rates we have seen lately.
July 7th, 2009 at 5:44 PM
Be careful on the streets, Saskatoon police say
http://www.thestarphoenix.com/news/careful+streets+Saskatoon+police+wake+Monday+violent+robberies/1767287/story.html
“‘So if you’re driving alone somewhere at night, it might be a good idea to lock your doors. If you’re out walking, you may want to stay in well-lit areas, be aware of your surroundings — you know, that kind of common-sense stuff.’ …”The 42-year-old victim was in a well-lit area near the intersection…”
July 8th, 2009 at 11:27 AM
TSX continues slump as commodity prices fall
http://www.financialpost.com/news-sectors/story.html?id=1770703
Canada a beacon of light among the ruins
http://www.financialpost.com/news-sectors/story.html?id=1770848
July 9th, 2009 at 8:48 PM
Hi guys,
Some happy news for some and not so for the look at how better Alberta is people.
http://ca.news.finance.yahoo.com/s/07032009/2/biz-finance-alberta-longer-holds-bragging-rights-among-provinces-economic.html
Hope u guys enjoyed ur canada day!