The Saskatoon real estate market continued along at a fairly typical fall pace this week. Sales of houses and condominiums showed a marginal increase over last week but new listings also posted some gains. Overall, the active residential listing inventory fell by 12 units to 613 properties, the lowest number we’ve seen since it peaked at 689 homes the week of October 22-26.

Average selling prices were lower in all areas, except area 5 which experienced a new high of $245,677. Across all five areas, the average selling price remained just slightly above the quarter million dollar mark.

While the percentage of homes which sold above list price was not particularly significant, the average overbid ($17,249) was the highest we’ve seen since the week of October 1-5, and was driven up by just a couple of sales. A Haultain area bungalow sold more than $40,000 above asking price, and a Hampton Village bi-level was reported sold at $54,100 above list.

Saskatoon home buyers were able to negotiate some dollars off of the asking price on 58 of 73 sales, but the average underbid ($7,947) fell after three consecutive weeks above the $10,000 mark.

Here’s a bit of an update of some specific sales in various areas of the city.

• An Arbor Creek bungalow of just less than 1,100 square feet with a double attached garage goes for $345,000.
• Erindale two-storey which is close to 2,200 square feet with a double attached garage sells for $395,000
• East College Park bungalow at 1,250 feet with a double detached garage for $290,000.
• A Wildwood condo of 800 square feet sells for $165,000.
• A Stonebridge two-storey, just less than 2,200 square feet with a double attached garage sells for $575,000.
• Area 2 bungalows in the 900-1100 square foot range sell between $260,000 and $310,000.
• 1,300 square foot Lawson Heights bi-level with a double attached garage goes for $342,000.
• 1,027 square foot Meadow Green bungalow in a decent spot, no garage brings $220,000.
• Finally, one of those Meadow Green condos finds a buyer with a 660 square foot unit going for $114,900. Parkridge bungalow at 912 square feet with a double detached garage fetched $257,500.
• A near new Confederation Park bungalow, just less than 1,200 square feet with no garage brings $245,000.

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 Vidorra

Yet another week of Saskatoon real estate activity is behind us, and while the numbers look more or less similar to those that we’ve seen in recent weeks, there is at least one notable change which is worth pointing out. The “average overbid” column has finally lost almost all of its relevance. While there were still eight Saskatoon houses or condos which were reported as having sold above the asking price, the average amount at which they sold over list dropped to its lowest level this year at just $1,213. The total amount that these eight properties were over was only $9,700. Compare that to the first week in August when buyers paid a total of $1,244,138 more than asking price, or even to the week of October 15-19, which recorded the previous low number at $57,200. Things are definitely different.

On the other side of the market, where most properties sold for less than list price, successful sellers discounted their homes by a total of $540,200 and the “average underbid” was more than $10,000 for the third week in a row. Approximately 10% of the fifty properties which sold below list price accepted discounts of $20,000 or more, with a few approaching the $40,000 mark.

Even still, the average asking price and the average selling price of the Saskatoon homes which did trade bounced back in a serious way from last week, once again reaching their highest levels for 2007. It’s clear that buyers have many more options to choose from but they’re still willing to pay a premium price for a good property in a good location.

Buyers and sellers should both take great care to examine recent sales to ensure that they’re thinking is in the right ballpark. Obviously, buyers want to proceed with caution when there are homes on the market that are priced too high by $40,000, or more. Sellers would be wise to ensure that they avoid such drastic pricing errors. Properties which are grossly overpriced fail to attract much interest and often sell for less than they would have, had then been properly priced in the first place.

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 Vidorra

New listings of Saskatoon houses and condos remained stable with those reported the previous week while total unit sales took a small step forward to 76 properties, from 71 the week before. While sale numbers are definitely weaker in recent weeks, the ratio of sales to new listings is strengthening and total active listings are once again on the decline. At the close of the week, the Saskatoon Multiple Listing Service®was showing just 652 active real estate listings, down from close to 690 just a couple of weeks ago. Still, active listings are approximately 50% higher than they were at this time last year.

The percentage of Saskatoon real estate listings selling above the asking price was up again but the average overbid fell to its lowest level since early March. Buyers managed to negotiate a downward deal on 71% of all reported homes sales, and on average, to the tune of more than $10,000. This is surely an indication that sellers are much more inclined to over price their homes, but they seem to understand that some negotiation may be required to close the deal.

The average selling price took a fairly big hit this week, primarily a result of more condo sales, and a pretty good handful of area 4 properties which sold below the $80,000 mark.

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 Vidorra

The most notable change within the Saskatoon real estate market over the past week was the sharp drop in both new residential listings and total active listings. Only 85 properties were offered up for sale, the lowest number for any single week since the week of April 2-5. Unit sales surged forward enough to produce the highest sales to listing ratio since the week of May 21-25. These factors, combined with month end listing expiries pulled total active inventories of Saskatoon homes back to 665 units from last week’s high of 689 properties.

This week did produce the highest percentage of negotiable sellers this year with a full 83% of houses and condos going for less than the list price. Only 10% of reported sales managed a price which exceeded the asking price.

Remarkably, the average list price and the average selling price reached new highs once again at $273,961 and $265,538 respectively. These numbers were somewhat skewed by a single sale in the Nutana area which topped the million dollar mark, a new record for the Saskatoon MLS® system. A negotiated reduction of $171,000 off of the list price pushed the average underbid to its highest level yet at $11,353.

I continue to be amazed at the number of executive homes which are trading above the $700,000 mark. So far this year, we’ve seen 18 sales in this price category. Prior to 2007, only 5 homes had ever managed to top the $700K mark.

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 Vidorra