When the City asked for developers to consider an exciting new “Urban Village” concept at River Landing in Saskatoon's Central Business District, the call was answered by Michael Lobsinger, a former Saskatoon resident and now a successful real estate developer.

On Wednesday, March 12, Mr. Michael E. Lobsinger, President CEO, Lake Placid Group, will speak to the Saskatoon business community at the 14^th Annual Traders Luncheon in support of Junior Achievement of Saskatchewan. He will discuss the challenges and rewards in building in Canada’s hottest markets – Calgary and Saskatoon.

Lunch begins at 12:00 PM at the Sheraton Cavalier in Saskatoon with the speech beginning at 12:30 PM.

Flyer with additional event details.

Ticket order form.

Thanks to Darren Hill, President and CEO of Junior Achievement of Saskatchewan for the heads up on this event.

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

It seems that Saskatoon has one of the most generous condo conversion policies, if you’re a landlord that is.

Saskatoon city administrators are working hard to bring about a policy change in the city of Saskatoon. They’ve recommended a number of changes that they say would protect tenants from being displaced at times when vacancy rates are exceptionally low.

Their research had them comparing the policies which exist in other Canadian municipalities that have experienced real estate booms in recent years and they found that in most areas it’s quite a bit tougher to convert apartments to condos when rental conditions are tight. Vancouver, Victoria, Ottawa, and Kelowna all prohibit conversions when vacancies fall below a minimum threshold which ranges from 2-4%. No such policy exists in Saskatoon.

The executive committee responsible for reviewing recommendations brought forward by city administrators has tabled discussion on the suggested policy changes until after a March 11 court challenge initiated by tenants of Saskatoon’s Milroy Apartments which was recently approved for conversion.

Read the Star Phoenix coverage 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

Statistics Canada’s latest income report contains some good news for the province. Saskatchewan led the country for overall income growth seeing average weekly earnings increase by 5.4%, compared to the 3.1% growth experienced nationally. Average weekly earnings in the province rose to $742.62 in December of 2007, from $704.79 in December of 2006. Saskatchewan also saw one of the largest decreases in Employment Insurance recipients.

If you’re looking for the negative nugget in this story, you could point to the fact that average weekly incomes in Saskatchewan still lag behind the national average of $782.02 and well below Alberta, the province we seem desperate to become where the average weekly income is $860.31.

Hopefully with the momentum that Saskatchewan seems to have 2008 will be the year that incomes catch up with the rest of the country.

Read the Star Phoenix coverage here

Read the StatsCan report 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

Saskatoon’s landmark hotel, the Delta Bessborough is now under new ownership. The British Columbia Investment Corporation (bcIMC) took ownership of the historic hotel on February 1 but just announced the acquisition recently.

The new owners took a pass on disclosing the purchase price but did indicate that they plan on investing an additional million dollars in “upgrades” to be completed this year.

The Bessborough Hotel was built between 1928 and 1932 by the Canadian National Railway. A severely depressed economy delayed the hotel’s opening until late in 1935 when its first guest was welcomed. The Baltzan family acquired the hotel in 1972 and eventually passed control to Canadian Pacific Hotels in the 1980’s. It was purchased by the Legacy Hotels Real Estate Investment Trust in 1998 and a $9,000,000 restoration project, intended to reclaim many of the hotel’s historical features was undertaken in 1999. The 225 room four star hotel graces the west bank of the South Saskatchewan River in downtown Saskatoon.

bcIMC manages a pension fund which finances retirement benefits of some public employees in British Columbia including health-care workers, firefighters and teachers. They also own the Radisson Hotel and the Saskatoon Inn. With all three hotels in their portfolio they’ve got quite a handle on the upper end market in Saskatoon.

Any guesses on the price tag of this magnificent piece of 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

I’m not big on interviews. Perhaps that’s a bit odd for someone who is the “media spokesperson” for his company. One of the biggest challenges is the deadlines. Reporters always seem to call about an hour before they’d like to see you so you have to act quickly, and often rearrange other scheduled activities to get it done. I do it because it’s part of the job but I rarely have fun with them.

It was an entirely different story when Lani Anglin-Rosales asked me to do a “bubble gum interview” with RE Revealed. Her blog is one of my favorites and I really enjoy her intelligent sense of humour. It was an honour to be asked and she was gracious enough to give me “as much time” as I needed.

96 days later, the interview is here. :)

Lani, thanks for the invitation to RE Revealed and for your patience. I really did enjoy this one.

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

Tenants at Saskatoon’s Milroy Apartments served notice to civic administrators Friday of their intentions to seek a judicial review of council’s recent decision to approve an application for a condominium conversion at the downtown apartment building.

Represented by fellow tenants Martin Been and Barbara Henderson, Milroy residents will ask a Court of Queen’s Bench judge to overturn the decision and to grant an order prohibiting the city from issuing an approval certificate “unless and until the City of Saskatoon determines, upon evidence” that the conversion meets the requirements of Saskatchewan’s Condominium Property Act.

One section of the Act states the following with respect to condominium conversions:

On an application for a certificate pursuant to clause (1)(b), the local authority shall direct the issue of a certificate if it is satisfied that:

(e) Where the application relates to the conversion of existing premises used for apartments, flats, or tenements into units:

i) the conversion will not significantly reduce the availability of rental accommodation in the area;

ii) the conversion will not create significant hardship for any or all of the tenants of the existing premises.

The most recent Rental Market Report released by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation placed Saskatoon’s vacancy rate at a record low of just 0.6% following a busy year of condo conversion applications in the city of Saskatoon. Through 2007, over 1,500 rental units were approved for conversion, more than we’ve seen in the last ten years combined.

Councillors Bob Pringle, Pat Lorje, Darren Hill and Charlie Clark all voted against the application for conversion because of concerns over the tight rental market and the impact that a conversion would have on the buildings tenants.

I suspect that the city will argue that the Milroy tenants are interpreting the Condominium Property Act incorrectly. They’ll argue that this section of the Act provides municipalities with power to reject applications should they choose to do so, but does not limit their authority in granting applications under any circumstances which they deem appropriate.

Related articles include;

City of Saskatoon to consider proposed changes to condo conversion policy

Milroy Apartments in Saskatoon will become condos

Saskatoon City Council approves condo conversion policy change

NDP calls for “freeze” on Saskatoon condo conversions

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

Note: The graphics in this post were updated on February 7, 2009 to reflect the final sale numbers as reported by agents for January 2008. 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.

In contrast to the numbers released early this month by the Saskatoon Region Association of REALTORS® (SRAR), my research on January real estate sales shows a decrease in the average selling price of a home.SRAR reports on all residential property types, including semi-detached and duplexes while my “closer look” numbers focus specifically on houses and condos; units which we would consider homes as opposed to income properties. SRAR also bases their report on sales which firmed up during the stated period, where my numbers focus on contracts written during the period.

The average selling price of Saskatoon homes (condos and single-family detached homes combined) for the month of January came in at $252,763, down from $261,707 in December and up from $183,971 in January of 2007. The reduced month over month average can be explained by a doubling in the number of condos sold during December. Note also that nearly twice the number of transactions occurred in area 4 compared to the previous month.

Houses (single-family detached homes) continued to see fairly significant increases with the average settling at $284,473 by month end, compared to $272,791 in December. Year over year, houses increased by approximately 49%. The average selling price of a Saskatoon house in January, 2007 was $190,652.

The average sale price of Saskatoon condos took a large slide again during January. Yet, condo prices seem to have stabilized over the last 60 days, perhaps even crept up some. It’s apparent when one reviews sales from specific projects, like Pine Creek for instance, where units peaked in the low 260’s in the early summer, sold as low as $235,000 by November, and have traded most recently for as much as $265,000.

The downward trend in average condo prices can be explained by a large number of sales in the up to $120,000 price range. A conversion project in Meadowgreen reports approximately 20 sales. Up until January, these units were selling very slowly. A number of downtown bachelor suites have also been sold below $120K. Regardless, it appears that we are seeing single-family homes and condos building more of a spread in value which seems appropriate. At some points over last year, condo prices were coming in very close to house prices.

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

Saskatoon city council’s executive committee will consider proposed changes to our condo conversion policy at its February 25^th meeting. The proposal, brought forward by city administrators recommends a number of changes which they say would be helpful in keeping a supply of rental units available in the city.

Administrators have suggested that the city refuse applications to convert apartments to condominiums when Saskatoon vacancy rates drop below 1.5%. They further suggest that investors should pay a fee of $10,000 per unit when vacancy rates are between 1.5% and 3%.Finally, administrators would like to see conversions involving more than 50 living units actually go to city council for review. Currently, only those projects involving 100 or more living units require approval of council.

“While your administration remains of the view that condominium conversions have an overall positive impact on the community during normal market conditions, the drop in vacancy rates does raise the question as to whether the City of Saskatoon should continue to approve condominium conversion applications in the foreseeable future,” the report says.

Saskatoon developer Ken Achs, president of Midwest Development Corporation argued in a letter to council opposing the proposed changes that people may be overlooking the benefits of condo conversions, which include needed upgrades, which improve safety and quality of life for residents. He also notes that typically 30% of converted units are returned to the rental pool in an improved state.

“If there were suitable tax incentives and lower-priced land, more apartments would be built and the market would self-regulate through supply and demand,” says Achs in his letter.

The city received 54 applications to convert a total of 1,544 rental units to condominiums during 2007. That’s more units than were converted over the previous ten years combined. Saskatoon rental vacancy rates plummeted from 3% in the first quarter of 2007, to .6% by the third quarter. Rents saw significant increases over a short period of time while tenants, displaced by ongoing conversions scrambled to find a new place to live.

Read the story in today’s Star Phoenix 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

“Regionally, prices again rose at the fastest pace in Saskatoon, which led the nation with an annual price increase of 45.1%. On a month-over-month basis, housing prices rose 1.0% between November and December in Saskatoon. A number of factors were behind the gain, including increased costs for concrete and drywall, as well as higher land development costs reported by some builders,” says the Statscan report.

Windsor, where the cost to build a new home decreased by 1.1% from December 2006 was the only Canadian market to experience a decline over the last year.

Price increases across Canada came in as follows:

Regina – 25.9%

Calgary – 6%

Edmonton – 21.5%

Winnipeg – 15%

Vancouver – 6.4%

Victoria – 1.6%

Toronto – 3.4%

Thunder Bay – 5.9%

London – 3.1%

Hamilton – 2.8%

St. Catherines-Niagara - .3%

Montreal – 4.1%

Halifax – 10.4%

St. John’s – 7.9%

Thanks to Jedi who posted this link to the CBC coverage.

Thanks also to St. John’s blogger Stephen Winters for sending me this link to the Globe’s coverage.

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