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Selecting a neighbourhood that you think you’ll be comfortable in isn’t easy, particularly if you’re trying to do it from half way across the country and you’re more or less unfamiliar with Saskatoon.


I’d like to introduce you to a resource which I think you’ll find helpful. I call it Saskatoon Neighbourhoods, Profile and Price Trends. In this section of the Saskatoon Real Estate Resource Centre website, there’s a separate page for each area of Saskatoon. On the most developed pages, you’ll find the following information about neighbourhoods which you may want to consider.


  • Photos taken around the area schools, parks, etc. (a work in progress).
  • Real estate data from the previous year including the number of units sold (houses & condos), the low selling price, the high selling price and the average selling price.
  • The six months rolling average selling price of both houses and condos in the area.
  • A house price trend chart which shows how prices have changed over a ten year period, comparing changes in neighbourhood values to Saskatoon in general.
  • The kinds of occupations that area residents are involved in.
  • Household income statistics for residents of the area.
  • Some information about the types of homes which exist in the neighborhood.
  • A chart which shows the history of development for the neighbourhood.
  • Some information on the percentage of homes which are owner occupied
  • Links to schools in the area.
  • A Google map of the neighbourhood (zoom out to see exactly where the area is situated).
  • In some cases, one or two reviews of the area written and submitted by residents.


If you currently live in Saskatoon, I have a favour to ask of you. I’d really appreciate it of you’d visit the page for your neighbourhood, scroll way down to the bottom of the page and jot me a few words about your area in the provided form. There’s nothing that tells a story like somebody’s story. I know that people will find your words helpful.


Click through to the Saskatoon Neighbourhoods, Profiles & Price Trends page here.


I’m always happy to answer your Saskatoon real estate questions.Feel free to drop me an email.


Norm Fisher

Royal LePage Vidorra

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Saskatoon homes have taken a serious slide in affordability over the past year, landing us in the “Moderately Unaffordable” category according to the Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey: 2008.


The survey, prepared by Pavletich Properties Ltd. compares median incomes in 227 markets around the world to median housing prices for the area. Their method of measuring affordability is based on a “median multiple” which is arrived at by dividing the median price of a home by the median income for each municipality. A “median” is the number separating the higher half of a sample from the lower half. For instance, if the median price of a home in Saskatoon is $212,900, we can assume that half of all homes sold here sell above that number and the other half below.


In their 2007 survey, which was based on data from the third quarter of 2006, Saskatoon was tied for 15th on the “Most Affordable” list. At that time, the median Saskatoon income was $52,100 and the median price of a home in the city was $138,000. Buyers could expect to pay about 2.6 times annual income for a home.


Just one year later, the median income has shown good growth to $60,900 but the median price of a home has risen sharply to $212,900, or 3.5 times annual income, moving us to 77th place internationally on the “Moderately Unaffordable” list.


In spite of some deterioration in affordability, Regina managed to maintain its place on the “Most Affordable” list sliding from first place to 12th place, while seeing their median multiplier increase from 2.0 to 2.4. Neither incomes, nor housing prices increased in Regina to the degree that they did in Saskatoon.


Thunder Bay was noted as the most affordable place to own a home out of all of the markets surveyed. You can purchase a residence there for only 1.8 times annual income. Other Canadian markets making the “Most Affordable” list include Saguenay, St. John, St. John’s, Windsor, Quebec, Trois-Rivieres, Winnipeg, Sudbury, London, Oshawa and Ottawa.


Canada’s “Moderately Unaffordable” markets include Barrie, Halifax, Kingston, Kitchener-Waterloo, Sherbrook, Hamilton, St. Catherines-Niagara and Montreal.


Markets landing in the “Seriously Unaffordable” category include Edmonton, Calgary, and Toronto.


The “Severely Unaffordable” list includes Abbotsford, Victoria, Vancouver and Kelowna which is billed as the least affordable market to own a home in Canada. Kelowna home buyers can expect to pay 8.5 times annual income for a home.


In Los Angeles, California a home costs 11.5 times annual income making it the least affordable place in the world to own a home.


Deteriorating housing affordability is a major issue around the world and a leading contributor to the growing gap between the world’s rich, and the poor. In the introduction to this report, Dr. Donald Brash writes, “And the one factor which clearly separates all of the urban areas with high median multiples from those with low median multiples is the severity of the artificial restraints on the availability of land for residential building…Despite all of the evidence, governments continue to pretend that they are powerless to make housing more affordable or, worse still, implement futile interventions which make the situation worse…”


Read the full Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey: 2008 here.

My post on the 2007 survey including a link to the survey 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.


Norm Fisher

Royal LePage Vidorra

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Saskatoon real estate: Week in review (January 21-25 2008)

Typical seasonal listing activity, combined with an unseasonably strong week of residential sales caused active Saskatoon real estate listings to slide again closing the week at 356 units including 159 single family homes and 157 condominiums.


A total of 91 Saskatoon homes were reported sold on the local multiple listing service this week producing the largest volume of unit sales since the week of August 13-17.


Overbidding made a bit of a comeback this past week with 12 of the 91 homes sold reporting prices in excess of the list price, the highest number since the week of November 5-9. Overbid activity was highest in Area 5 where sales at, or above the list price occurred on slightly more than half of the homes sold. The average selling price in the area topped $280,000, driven up by an unusually high number of sales in the more expensive neighbourhoods like Dundonald, Hampton Village and Parkridge.


Across all areas, the average selling price dropped to $250,511, down fairly sharply from the previous week. In Area 1, which was by far the most active, 22 of the 31 reported sales were condominiums and the lower selling prices generated in this category caused the overall average to decline.


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.


Norm Fisher

Royal LePage Vidorra

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Housing affordability is expected to improve in most Canadian provinces in 2008, but Saskatchewan is not among them according to the most recent Housing Affordability study just released by RBC Economics.


Following a year of record deterioration in housing affordability, the possibility of declining interest rates is the only hope which could move Saskatchewan into “stable” territory where the percentage of income used to service homeownership costs is concerned.


Recent reports released by RBC during 2007 characterized house prices in Saskatchewan as “considerably out of whack with the underlying fundamentals.” Apparently, the “fundamentals” are less important than we might have thought. RBC is predicting some fairly significant price growth for this area in 2008.


“In 2008, we expect softer, but still elevated conditions. Price gains should moderate from the 30% range down to somewhere in the 15% range. Unlike every other province where housing starts are expected to decline and affordability conditions to improve, Saskatchewan should actually see a modest increase in housing starts and only stabilization in affordability rather than an outright improvement.”


Read the most recent RBC Housing Affordability study here

Read also: Saskatchewan real estate on fire: TD Economics

Read also: Is Saskatoon real estate overvalued? Another economist says yes

Read also: Saskatoon and Edmonton homes most overvalued: Scotiabank economist

Read also: Worst quarterly deterioration of housing affordability on record for Sask


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

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“Marty Ummel feels she paid too much for her house. So do millions of other people who bought at the peak of the housing boom.


“What makes Ms. Ummel different is that she is suing her agent, saying it was all his fault.”


I came by this story from today’s New York Times by way of the 1000 Watt Blog, one of my favorite daily stops.


Naturally, I can’t speak to the facts of this particular case and it’s my guess that it will be a difficult argument to make. However, the story should serve as a reminder to agents that there is more to representing a client than finding them a home and putting a contract together.


Ultimately, we are responsible to “protect and promote the interests” of our client. If they’re offering to pay more than market value, they have a right to know it. They depend on us to tell them the truth.


Nobody can predict the direction of a real estate market with absolute certainty, yet almost daily I hear from people who claim that a Saskatoon real estate agent has told them that prices are going to go through the roof this spring. Just three weeks ago, one agent stood in my office and relayed portions of a conversation he had with a buyer. “This house will be worth $X by spring. I guarantee it!”


“Hmmm…and I think you just did guarantee it.”


If your agent is using this kind of language, he or she may be either ignorant or reckless. I could be wrong, but it’s worth thinking about. :)


The full New York Times story 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.


Norm Fisher

Royal LePage Vidorra

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I was speaking with a mortgage person yesterday. He was recounting a conversation that he had with a young person who is interested in purchasing his first home. In response to the question, “are you working with an agent?” this young man indicated that he wasn’t because he couldn’t afford to pay a commission. My mortgage broker friend responded by telling his new client that “the seller always pays the commission and it costs you nothing to use the services of an agent, so you should use one.”


I’ll agree with my friend on his latter point. It probably comes as no surprise that this agent believes that almost anyone can benefit by using the services of an agent in the purchase of real estate. First time buyers are particularly prone to making costly mistakes which can take years to pay for. I will however take issue with his first point. Even though a buyer will not likely see “real estate fees” show up on an invoice; I firmly believe that it is in fact the buyer who pays the commission in a real estate trade. After all, the buyer brings the money to the transaction. Real estate services may or may not be included in the property’s price but chances are, you are paying for those services. Understanding this simple truth may be helpful to you in getting maximum value for your money.


It’s important to understand that a commission is earned in every real estate transaction. If the property is listed through a real estate brokerage, the agent earns the commission for affecting a sale on the property. If a property is marketed privately, the seller is attempting to earn the commission. In rare instances, a buyer who buys “unrepresented” may in fact earn some portion of the commission. You should at least understand that it’s your money that is being earned.


The myth that buyers don’t pay real estate fees has been an excuse for poor service that has gone on long enough. Let’s face it, if you are led to believe that you’re not paying for the service, you’re probably not going to have very high expectations of your agent. After all, we all know that you don’t get much for free, or to put it another way, “you get what you pay for.” Are you getting what you’re paying for?


Prudent buyers should interview prospective agents to find out exactly what services the agent is prepared to provide. Once you’ve selected an agent, hold that person accountable to deliver what’s been promised. Moreover, let the agent know that you actually believe that you’re paying the real estate fees and that you expectations for service are fairly high because of it.


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

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Saskatoon real estate: Week in review (January 14-18 2008)

Active Saskatoon real estate listings held steady this week showing a total of 393 units including 169 single family homes and 178 condominiums across all Saskatoon neighbourhoods and all price ranges. New listings dropped to 73 homes, from 85 last week.


Residential unit sales of both houses and condos inched back up over the 50 mark for the first time since mid-December. Area 1 was most active producing 22 of those sales.


This January has a similar feel when compared to the same month last year, at least when it comes to inquiries. The phone is ringing a lot and a steady stream of email inquiries continue to find their way to our inbox daily. It’s amazing though how much of an impact the additional listing we have this year makes. While it looks like we will probably exceed last January’s sale numbers, buyers are generally tougher and they don’t feel near the pressure that they were feeling at this time last year. That’s a good thing for everyone.


Just the same, there are some signs that the spring market is just around the corner. I note that this week produced the highest percentage of “at list” or “above list price” sales since the week of October 1-5. Additionally, the average underbid declined again for the fourth week in a row. The difference between the average list price and the average sale price has been gradually, but consistently declining for several weeks now. The bottom line is that the inventory of Saskatoon houses is still very low, in spite of the increased level we have this year. Buyers just don’t have very many options and the market will likely continue to favour sellers through the spring months.


 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

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Over the past several months a number of my past clients have asked me about real estate opportunities in the U.S. The rising dollar, combined with reduced prices in some beautiful U.S. cities has many Canadians considering a purchase in their favorite vacation spot. A friend of mine from Phoenix recently asked if he could share some information about buying property south of the border, so I jumped at the opportunity to have him as my guest. I’d like you to meet Jonathan Dalton, and his partner, Toby. J

Greetings from Phoenix!

I’m Jonathan Dalton from RE/MAX Desert Showcase and Dalton’s Arizona Homes Blog. Norm was nice enough to let me drop in and talk directly to you folks and I’m quite appreciative. As I write we’re in the middle of a cold snap – it’s down to 53 degrees here, which translates to somewhere around 12 Celsius. But that sounds much colder than it should so I’m going to stick to 53.

One of the big stories of real estate down here in the Valley of the Sun is the surge in Canadians looking to purchase second homes here, usually for themselves and sometimes as seasonal rentals (even though the high season is the same time of year someone from the land of snow probably would rather be here.) I’ve spent most of the last six months acquainting folks from Alberta and Saskatchewan with the Phoenix area and some of the particulars of buying homes down here.

There seem to be a lot of seminars up there telling people what they need to know about buying in the United States, though it seems like the seminars really work out best for the hosts collecting the checks at the door. The basic information’s good but there’s a lot of small stuff you ought to know before you buy in the United States and the Phoenix area in particular.

With any luck (and possibly a bribe or two) Norm will let me write about these in a little more depth sometime. But here are some basic things you should know:

1)The Phoenix real estate market is big. It’s really big. From Surprise in the northwest to Queen Creek in the southeast is somewhere around 65 miles one way. It’s hard narrowing down the search so …

2)Know what you like to do. If you’re into golf (which we do year-round here), golf is everywhere. If you want to watch hockey, come to the West Valley. If you like off-Broadway productions stay closer to Arizona State University in Tempe. What you like to do will impact where you ought to look.

3)Speaking of such things, Queen Creek is in a different county than Phoenix. We’re in Maricopa. Queen Creek is in Pinal. Property taxes are far higher in Pinal County than in Maricopa. The local paper ran an article about Canadians buying in Florence which is even further south than Queen Creek. Not sure if the sales agent ever mentioned taxes.

4)And on that note, don’t go into a new build without representation. Agents at new builds will tell you what they have to tell you but not necessarily everything that you might need to know.

5)Lastly, financing isn’t nearly as complicated as it seems … if you find a lender who knows what they’re doing with Canadian buyers.


Timing is an interesting concept from what I’ve seen with my clients. Not only are you guessing the direction of the local market but you’re also gambling on the currency exchange. A small decline in the Phoenix real estate market actually could be less costly than a drop in the loony. With our dollars at parity, that seems to be the main reason folks are looking more than normal.

I’ve got a penchant for rambling as you’ll discover if you visit my blog so I’ll wrap this up here. Hopefully I didn’t wear out my welcome and I’ll be back again. Thanks much for allowing me to interrupt and I now return you to Saskatchewan real estate news already in progress.

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Anger was the dominant emotion at Monday’s city council meeting when the application by Viking Developments to convert Saskatoon’s Milroy Apartments to condos was approved.


Current bylaws require conversion applications which affect more than 100 units be approved by council who have the discretion to deny them if vacancy rates in the area are sufficiently low that tenants may have difficulty finding alternative accommodations. According to CMHC’s recently released “Rental Market Report,” apartment vacancy rates in the immediate vicinity of the Milroy have dropped to 1%, and as low as .6% across the city of Saskatoon.


The Milroy Apartments consist of 156 living units. Viking has promised to retain 40 of the units as rental properties which will be offered to long-term tenants at “market rents.” Like most promises, there is no legal obligation to deliver.


Of course, the fly in the ointment here is the tenants who will be impacted, “many of whom are over 70 years of age and coping with limited mobility and health issues,” according to the Saskatoon Star Phoenix.


In the past, I’ve taken the position that the market should be allowed to work and I appreciate the complexity of the decision that council was faced with. That said, I can’t imagine a worse time to force at least 116 tenants, many of them elderly, to find a new home. We could have justified putting this one off until rental conditions improve.


Perhaps “the market” will grow a conscience and bite Viking in the ass!


Read also: Star Phoenix - Milroy conversion gets OK from city council

Read also: Gerry Klein of the Star Phoenix – Few options for city renters

Read also: CMHC Rental Market Report for 2007, Saskatoon


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

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Note: The graphics in this post were updated on January 6, 2008 to reflect the final sale numbers as reported by agents for December, 2007. The graphics show the final figures while the commentary reflects the statistics as they had been reported as of the date of the original post.





On average, it took an additional 4 days to find a buyer in December but as the supply of Saskatoon real estate listings dwindled towards year end, prices inched higher. The average selling price of a home in our city increased about $4,000 from $257,915 in November to $261,707 in December (condos and single-family detached homes). Unit sales saw a large decline to 193 units compared to 281 in November, but were still well ahead of December, 2006 when just 128 condos and houses sold in Saskatoon, at an average price of $186,389.


Interestingly, Saskatoon houses took a significantly larger jump from last month to an average selling price of $272,791 from $261,233. While total inventory levels were up when compared to December of 2006, at least half of the available homes were condominiums so we actually had fewer single-family homes as active listings than we did last December.


A bit of a surplus in the condominium category gave buyers more options and more leverage to negotiate a better deal. Average selling times increased to 33 days, compared to 28 in November and average selling prices came down substantially to just $236,533 from $247,721 in November. I think this is a trend we can expect to continue because, as I’ve said before, condo price increases have been too far ahead of the rest of the market. They’re up 64% over December of 2006, when the average selling price of a Saskatoon condo was just $144,363.


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.


Norm Fisher Royal LePage Vidorra

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Saskatoon real estate: Week in review (January 7-11 2008)

The inventory of Saskatoon real estate listings saw some growth this week climbing to 393 residential units including 177 houses and 172 condominiums. Lackluster sales, combined with the strongest listings we’ve seen since the week of November 19-23 were largely behind the increase in the number of available homes.


Some agents proclaimed, “It’s starting to happen again” but the speculative statement is not supported by the numbers. Granted, the average overbid did come in above the $8,000 mark, the highest number since late November, but only three properties managed an above list price sale so that’s hardly evidence of the market ramping up for boom 2.0. The average underbid was almost as high at $7,173 on 32 of 38 Saskatoon homes which were reported sold this week.


I will say though that there seems to be another large spike in inquiries from out of province investors. I’ve handled at least two dozen telephone inquiries this week, and as many emails from people expressing interest in buying Saskatoon homes. “Fix and flip” are the buzzwords of the week. Those interested in the fast buck that a booming market can deliver should be aware that the risks are considerably higher and the potential rewards are far smaller than they were this time last year. One wrong move and you lose your shirt! Some that bought at the tail end of the first frenzy are still losing money today. RBC released their provincial outlook this week and referred to house prices in Saskatchewan as being “considerably out of whack with the underlying fundamentals.” Affordability should be the new buzz word as we move forward.


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.


Norm Fisher Royal LePage Vidorra

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In their latest Provincial Outlook, RBC has downgraded projections for economic growth in Saskatchewan over 2008 and 2009, but still expects the provincial economy to perform better than all other provinces, except Alberta. In spite of this short-term downgrade, RBC does seem particularly bullish on the potential for Saskatchewan’s future providing that “the risks of overheated housing and commodity cycles” are properly managed.

RBC economists point to a heated Saskatchewan economy through 2007, which was largely driven by a “sharp reversal in net-migration outflows to inflows, the resulting pick-up in housing markets, strength in job gains, and high commodity prices.”

However, RBC warns that “cracks are appearing” in Saskatchewan’s economy.“Strained housing affordability that has pushed into record territory will crimp housing demand going forward because robust price gains are considerably out of whack with underlying fundamentals.”

“However, a variety of capital investments will support the non-residential sector… If Saskatchewan plays its cards right, then its early fortunes could become an embarrassment of riches for a small population through the triple play of diamond mining, renewed interest in developing its rich uranium deposits and a quickening pace of development in the immensely rich but challenging Bakken formation thanks to high oil prices and better technology… This offers Alberta-style future economic potential for a 70% smaller population, but requires managing the risks of overheated housing and commodity cycles.”

Read the RBC Provincial Outlook 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 Vidorra

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