After two months of sluggish sales in the Saskatoon real estate market, demand picked up some in July. Total unit sales of condominiums and houses came in behind July 2007 numbers (411 units), but slightly higher than sales in 2005 (340) and 2006 (337), and up just over 10% compared to June, which closed with 299 sales. Average prices in this category didn’t fair as well, falling nearly $19,000 from their peak of $313,109 to settle at $294,306. Year-over-year, prices in this category were up nearly 20% from $245,306. Average days on the market increased from 21 days in June to 30 days in July.

Any loss to unit sales can be attributed to the “houses” category as record level prices curbed demand. Unit sales fell to 228, up from 212 in June, but down significantly from July 2007 when 315 houses traded hands. The average price of a Saskatoon house remained up about 27% over July 2007 when prices reached $253,446, but slid from nearly $340,000 in June to $322,715 in July. The average cost per square foot of a Saskatoon house dropped $9.00 through July when compared to last month.

Remarkably, condo sales for the month of July reached 111 units, up from 87 in June and actually beating July of 2007 when 96 condos traded. Prices took a fairly significant slide dropping to $235,952 from $248,681 last month, and up just 6.5% from $221,495 in July 2007. The average cost per square foot in the condo category increased $5.00 suggesting that the units that traded were smaller on average than those that sold in June.

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.

Follow our daily updates on Twitter @SaskatoonHomes.

Norm Fisher
Royal LePage Vidorra

In a report titled, “Peaked: Canada’s housing market in depth,” economist David Wolf of investment-banker Merrill Lynch says that “Canada's housing market is entering a sustained downturn amid excess supply and as higher prices deter new buyers.”

According to a story in today’s Globe and Mail, Mr. Wolf is most concerned about Saskatchewan, where the doubling of house prices in Regina and Saskatoon over the past two years “has led us to estimate that these markets are now close to 50 per cent overvalued.”

David Wolf is not the first economist to make the claim that Saskatoon is overvalued. Scotiabank economist Adrienne Warren said it first in September of 2007. RBC’s Amy Goldbloom said it again in October. Both of these stories were covered on this blog and in the Star Phoenix. Seems nobody was really listening then.

The Saskatoon Region Association of Realtors responded with this.

Read the Star Phoenix story here.

Peaked: Canada's housing market in depth

I have argued that prices in the Saskatoon real estate market have been out of whack with fundamentals so I won’t go out of my way to take issue with Merrill Lynch. I would suggest that it’s appropriate to keep in mind that this report is written by an investment-banking firm who makes the bulk of its money selling investments, and they don’t sell real estate.

This post is dedicated to Doug who would like you to know that unemployment is up, crime is obscenely high, incomes have not risen in Saskatchewan as much as they have in Alberta, Saskatoon’s population may be down by 2000 people, Westfair Foods is moving to Regina, SaskHouses now has 420 properties advertised, MLS listings are well above 1500 and growing weekly, MLS sales suck compared to last year, the average price of a Saskatoon home is falling, the price of oil is dropping, GDP was lower then expected last year, and “breaking your hip” is a real threat when living in Saskatoon. :)

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s talk Saskatoon real estate.

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.

Follow our daily updates on Twitter @SaskatoonHomes.

Norm Fisher
Royal LePage Vidorra

On the heels of one of the poorest performing weeks for Saskatoon real estate, this past week produced 84 residential unit sales, including 80 single-family homes (houses) and condominiums, the highest volume of residential sales reported since the week of June 9-13.

Total new residential listings came in at 155, including 139 single-family homes and condos. Overall, active residential listings declined slightly to 1,500 units including 976 houses and 418 condos. Active single-family home listings are at the same level as last week while a stronger week of condominium sales caused inventory to drop by 12 units.

The average selling price for the week hit its lowest level since March 10-14, largely driven down by stronger condo sales, particularly in area one where 20 of 28 sales reported were condominiums.

Underbid activity reached one of its highest level this year with 74 of 80 home buyers managing to negotiate some kind of a discount from the asking price, but the average underbid dipped to its lowest level since the week of June 16-20.

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.

Follow our daily updates on Twitter @SaskatoonHomes.

Norm Fisher
Royal LePage Vidorra

According to numbers released Friday by the Saskatoon Region Association of Realtors, the average selling price of a Saskatoon home dropped in July, falling below the $300,000 mark for the first time since March 2008. Average prices through the month came in at $292,428 for all units sold in the residential category, down from its peak of $310,386 reached in June 2008 and just above the six month rolling average of $289,902.Year-over-year gains fell to 20% compared to July 2007 when the average selling price was recorded at $244,327.

The decline in prices can almost certainly be credited to increased competition amongst sellers. The average asking price of properties that sold in July was just $300,608 compared to $317,735 in June. Total active residential listings hovered between 1,400 and 1,500 units through most of the month, settling at 1,497 by month end. These are numbers that are near double the record highs that I’ve experienced over a near 15-year real estate career in Saskatoon.

The active listing inventory did show some signs of stabilizing increasing just 57 units through the month of July following sharp increases for three consecutive months. Inventory grew from just 470 units at the end of April to 1,440 units by the close of June, an average of 323 units per month.

Total unit sales finished the month at 348, down 18% from July of last year when 422 units traded hands, but up from the previous year when 337 units were marked sold. Buyer interest seems to remain strong if we can get by comparing overall performance to 2007, which produced unit sales well in excess of the norm. To me, strong levels of demand provide some evidence that the Saskatoon real estate market is experiencing a correction, as opposed to a crash.

Sellers can expect competition to remain strong in the coming months. They can take some comfort in knowing that demand remains strong but they must be aware that everything matters when buyers have an abundance of options. Take the time to prepare your home for sale by addressing potential negatives with respect to property condition and pricing errors.

By the middle of next week, I will follow up with our “Closer Look” which will provide an overview of activity and prices for single-family homes and condominiums in each of the five major real estate areas of Saskatoon.

Read also: Star Phoenix – Saskatoon house prices fall

Read also: SaskHouses Blog – Average Asking Prices Drop in July

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.

Follow our daily updates on Twitter @SaskatoonHomes.

Norm Fisher
Royal LePage Vidorra