Saskatoon real estate week in review: November 7-11, 2011
Sales of Saskatoon homes through the multiple listing service® continued on a downward trend as we would expect at this time of the year. Saskatoon real estate agents reported seven fewer sales than last week at 55 units for a year-over year gain of just one sale.
New listings of houses and condos moved higher on a weekly basis, gaining on the previous week by six units for a total of 83 to trump new listings taken over the same period of the previous year by 12.
Click the image for a larger version of the graph.
Total active MLS® listings in the residential category made an upward move for the first time in six weeks as it grew by 13 units this week to 1174. That’s just three fewer listings than were available on the system at the same point in 2010. The listings line for 2011 has pretty much identically matched last year’s numbers since late September. This morning, buyers can find 701 single-family homes and 402 condominiums showing an active status on the system. Last year, at this time, those numbers sat at 708 and 408, respectively.
Click the image for a larger version of the graph.
Cancelled and withdrawn listings fell to just 36 homes with 19 of those returning to the system on the very same day bearing a new MLS® number, and in most cases, a new price. An additional 35 Saskatoon home sellers completed a price adjustment. Another 13 listings expired from the system having failed to sell during the contract period.
The average selling price of a Saskatoon home edged slightly higher this week gaining about $2,500 to finish at $328,015 while the weekly median plummeted lower, falling nearly $20,000 to just $290,000. The six-week average sale price grew by about $4,500 this week to reach $330,436 and hit another record high for the year. That’s roughly $28,000 higher than it was at the same point on last year’s calendar. The four-week median price slid lower by just over one thousand dollars to finish the week at $310,000 for an annual gain that matched that of the six-week average.
Click the image for a larger version of the graph.
Overbid sales made a come back in the stats as four lucky sellers completed a deal above their asking price, by an average of $11,313. That large average overbid was driven higher by one area 4 sale that closed at more than $40K above the list price. Another three sellers found a buyer willing to pay exactly what they were asking while 48 of 55 sellers had to sharpen their pencil a bit to get their home sold with an average underbid on $10,414.
Click the image for a larger version of the chart.
Highlights from the news this week
Canadian real estate: Overvalued or quality driven – Globe and Mail
Sizable minority of Canadians at risk if mortgage rates rise – Globe and Mail
Ask a mortgage broker: Variable or fixed – Globe and Mail
Billions saved via mortgage refinance – Financial Post
Bank of Canada could slash rates in a big way next year – Financial Post
Real estate boards push back against CREA – National Post
Even in shaky times, real estate can offer a solid investment – Globe and Mail
Home sales poised for another gain – National Post
Say yes to renos…save on the overall cost of a house – National Post
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.
Our Saskatoon home search tool offers MLS® listings from all real estate brands with the most detail and information available anywhere. Check it out 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.
Norm Fisher
Royal LePage Saskatoon Real Estate
8 comments so far. We'd love to hear your thoughts.
November 14th, 2011 at 6:03 AM
Seems to be an error in the sales chart. In comments you say overbid of $40,000 area 2 but in the chart the overbid appears in area 4.
Thanks for the site.
November 14th, 2011 at 9:13 AM
Thank you Darrell,
The chart is correct. The $40,000 overbid was in area 4, not area 2 as I stated in the commentary. Thanks for calling that to my attention.
November 15th, 2011 at 9:33 AM
Interesting map on the CBC today
http://www.cbc.ca/news/interactives/housing-canada/
Apparently Regina house prices are $280,000 v. $330,000 in Saskatoon ie. $50,000 more affordable in Regina. With average annual wages still higher in Regina, I still think this draws doubt on the sustainability of Saskatoon house prices.
As well, interesting that Edmonton house prices appear more affordable than Saskatoon, at $320,000 or $10,000 cheaper. This is likely within the margin of error/monthly variability, but does make one think. Especially interesting as even if Edmonton prices are actually the same, and not $10,000 cheaper, the average family income in Edmonton is about $10,000 a year more than Saskatoon, and taxes less. So Saskatoon truly is a more expensive city to live. No big deal if you work in potash.
But for the every day health care professional, teacher, mechanic, sales clerk, accountant, engineer, etc. you can make a bit more/or the same in Regina and own for less, or make far more in Edmonton, and maybe own for just a bit less.
Yet another reason Saskatoon housing is seriously unaffordable, and questionably sustainable.
Norm, I’ve switched my handle, so I can post at work, on breaks of course, without my name pre-filled in. Nick H
November 15th, 2011 at 1:22 PM
Hi Nick,
It’s not like this hasn’t been the case for what seems like nearly forever. If you look at the 90-day average price, Saskatoon is at $319K while Regina sits at $286,000. Pre-2007, Saskatoon was roughly 20% higher than Regina so the two markets are actually slightly closer than they were before. Besides, these averages rarely tell the whole story. Over the same period of time, Saskatoon reports 78 sales over $500,000 with the top 5 sales averaging over one million dollars each. Regina saw just 41 sales in the same price range with just one sale over one million dollars. I think there’s just a bit more money finding its way here and prices are skewed somewhat.
Nice to hear from you.
November 15th, 2011 at 6:35 PM
So NHL, when are you moving to Regina or Edmonton. LOLz
November 15th, 2011 at 10:14 PM
I moved to Regina a couple years ago, started using Norm’s site to look at real estate market in Saskatoon, after realizing I could make more in Regina, and save a lot on housing, I moved down there. I’ve since moved to Alberta, and now make substantially more than I would make in Saskatchewan, and own a nice house.
I still like to come to Norm’s blog when I find an interesting real estate story.
I find this is one of the very few relatively few good real estate websites out there.
And Toby, I’d recommend regardless of what you do, check out your similar job in Alberta, bet you get a raise, then find an online tax calculator, bet you save a couple thousand more a year, mature safe driver? I pay less in auto insurance.
Just saying, Norm has been very honest about Saskatoon house prices. Unlike some other boosters in the real estate industry. At some point, it gets awful tough to keep young people in Saskatoon, when they can live a better, more comfortable life in Alberta. Up until 2008, cheap housing was the one thing Saskatchewan had going for it. The Alberta Wage Advantage has actually widened over Saskatchewan in the past 3 to 4 years, and now we see Edmonton housing might even be cheaper than Saskatoon, before the higher Edmonton wages are even considered.
Too bad I had to leave Saskatoon to own in a nice safe area. Too bad for Saskatchewan that for many, that may mean leaving.
November 16th, 2011 at 8:17 AM
My wife and I are young and newly married, both well educated. We agree with NHL, it’s a no brainer.
November 16th, 2011 at 12:47 PM
My advice to anybody who is planning on leaving for a higher paycheck is to get a written offer from the company you are planning to go and work for. Take that offer to your current employer and ask for a match or better and see what happens. I did and received a 20% raise but in my situation it was somewhat different since the other company was located in Sask.
Just asking for a raise won’t work without any bartering capital or it will but likely not to your expectations. You need to put in the extra effort to get something on paper.
But if it weren’t for that raise then the numbers worked to go find a job and move to Alberta, much like what NHL did. Not that I would move to Alberta though as I have other personal reasons for staying in this province.
As for Regina I don’t know what it is but I can’t drive fast enough when passing through.
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