Saskatoon real estate week in review: March 22-26 2010
The black line continued to climb developing what’s beginning to look like a fairly steep pitch as Saskatoon real estate agents reported ninety-four firm house and condominium sales to the local MLS. That figure represents an increase of fourteen homes compared against the previous week, and a gain of thirty properties compared to the same week last year.
New listings of Saskatoon homes remained stable on a week-over-week basis with 132 properties being offered for sale, up from 113 for the same period in 2009.
Click the image for a larger version of the graph.
Total active MLS listings (residential) continued to build some numbers breaking the one thousand mark for the first time since total inventory fell below the four-figure level during the week of October 19-23 last year. The inventory line on our chart appears to be following a growth trend that is similar to 2009, albeit at lower levels. At this time last year there were a total of 1,422 active residential listings available on the Saskatoon MLS system compared to 1,016 today. As of this morning, we have a total of 595 single-family detached houses and 368 condos showing an active status. Nearly all of the gains were in the house category, which moved higher by forty units over the course of the week (a hefty increase for one week) while the condo inventory moved by just one. Last year at this time, those numbers were at 877 and 459 respectively.
Click the image for a larger version of the graph.
Cancelled and withdrawn listings were at twenty-four units once again with fifteen of those home sellers immediately changing their minds and re-listing, making it completely impossible to ascertain accurately how many days it takes to sell a house in Saskatoon. Forty-seven Saskatoon homes saw price adjustments this week.
The average selling price of a Saskatoon home bounced back again to finish the week at $289,405, up nearly fifteen thousand dollars over the previous week. The six-week average moved lower to $285,964 falling roughly seventeen hundred dollars from last week to finish about seventeen thousand dollars higher than it was during the same period in 2009. The four-week median slid nearly eight thousand dollars over the week to $271,000 to trump last year’s number by twelve thousand dollars.
Click the image for a larger version of the graph.
Overbidding activity dropped just a bit from last week as eight Saskatoon home buyers offered more than the seller was asking by an average of just $2,481. Nineteen home sellers managed a deal at their full asking price while sixty-seven buyers negotiated a final firm deal with an average drop of $7,263, a discount of about 2.4% of the asking price.
Click the image for a larger version of the chart.
Highlights from the news this week
Real estate agents poised to vote on shake up of industry
Competition Bureau firm in MLS fight
Developers tour plan (River Landing, Saskatoon)
Nasser and Lobsinger want first dibs on development
Overhaul of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac faces hurdles
House prices to hit record: Scotiabank
Bankers urged to get tough
Canadians worried about home prices
Housing key to fixing social ills: Sally Ann
City eyes land sales to soften budget blow
Competition bureau charges misconceived: CREA
U.S. unveils home aid plan
Realtors argue system is already competitive
Tone down the real estate speeches
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.
Real estate geeks can follow our daily updates on Twitter @norm_fisher.
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Norm Fisher
Royal LePage Saskatoon Real Estate
7 comments so far. We'd love to hear your thoughts.
March 28th, 2010 at 9:11 PM
I saw interesting clip on CTV about a CHMC reassessment. A condo bought in 2007 for $420k (pre-approved with CMHC for 40-yr/$20k-down/0%) was reassessed by CHMC in 2010 at the time of completion for only $335k – so they’re only willing to financing $313k now (leaving him about $84k short).
These are my questions: under what conditions and criteria does CHMC reassess the value of a property (and is there a minimum or maximum timeframe?), and can this potentially happen when either refinancing or renewing a term on a mortgage?
March 28th, 2010 at 10:52 PM
I believe that CMHC and your lender reserve the right to reconsider an approved loan at any time prior to advancement of the funds if there is a material change that affects a borrowers ability to repay the loan. Though I’ve never heard of it happening before I wouldn’t be completely surprised by a story like the one you’ve relayed. Clearly, CMHC has policies about values and a long-term possession could certainly have consequences.
Borrowers are not typically required to re-qualify for renewals, though most mortgages do have a protection for the lender which allows them to call the loan at its maturity. This is also rare.
March 29th, 2010 at 10:17 AM
Lock in your rates today if you can. 5 year posted rate going up 60 points tomorrow.
http://www.financialpost.com/news-sectors/story.html?id=2739115
March 31st, 2010 at 1:13 PM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjfgKVldnxE funny listings. Good if U need a quick laugh
March 31st, 2010 at 8:41 PM
Ringo,
Funny stuff. Particularly like, “A private world for you and your dong.”
April 19th, 2010 at 3:35 PM
I saw interesting clip on CTV about a CHMC reassessment. A condo bought in 2007 for $420k (pre-approved with CMHC for 40-yr/$20k-down/0%) was reassessed by CHMC in 2010 at the time of completion for only $335k – so they’re only willing to financing $313k now (leaving him about $84k short).
These are my questions: under what conditions and criteria does CHMC reassess the value of a property (and is there a minimum or maximum timeframe?), and can this potentially happen when either refinancing or renewing a term on a mortgage?
April 19th, 2010 at 6:00 PM
Michelle,
My understanding is that CMHC reserves the right to re-evaluate based on any material change of risk right up until funds are advanced. Generally, properties that are refinanced go through the hoops of approval including property valuation. Renewals typically don’t.
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