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Saskatoon real estate week in review–October 26-30 2009
Saskatoon real estate sales were certainly brisk this week with eighty-three house and condo deals firming up, trumping last week’s sales by seventeen units and finishing well ahead of the same week last year when just forty-seven properties changed hands. As the week drew to a close, so did the October sales month. My preliminary research shows a total of three hundred and eleven residential sales for the month, an increase of forty-six percent from last October’s dismal numbers, and growth of twenty-five percent when compared to the five-year October average of about two hundred and forty-eight Saskatoon homes.


New listings of houses and condos slowed again and dropped to their lowest level since the first week of 2009 to finish at just sixty-three, making this one of just four weeks this year in which unit sales exceeded new listings. This week’s total listings fell by nine properties compared to last week, and dropped thirty-one homes compared to the same week last year.



Naturally, the number of residential listings offered for sale on the Saskatoon multiple listing service declined again, falling fifty-three properties from last week to nine-hundred and forty-three, reaching their lowest level since early May of 2008. On a year-over-year basis, total active residential listings are down six hundred and sixty-one properties. The existing inventory of single-family detached houses sits at five hundred and fifty-six, down from nine hundred and seventy-nine for the same week last year. Active condo listings are presently at three hundred and twenty-one, off from five hundred and twenty-three at this time last year.


The number of cancelled or withdrawn listings fell to just sixteen this week, and seven of those rose from the ashes (hey, it’s Halloween) to reappear as a new listing on the Saskatoon MLS system. Approximately zero home buyers were fooled by the move. An additional forty-eight sellers adjusted their asking price in hopes of attracting a buyer.


It was another huge week for condominiums which accounted for thirty-six of the eighty-three reported sales. Perhaps more significant, ten of those condos showed sale prices from $75,000 to $99,900. Consequently, the average selling price of a Saskatoon home took a beating falling to just $254,912, its lowest level since June of this yearand about thirty-five thousand dollars below the same week a year ago. The six-week average slipped four thousand dollars from a week before to $276,159, and finished roughly sixteen thousand dollars below last year’s number. The four-week median price slid six thousand dollars from last week to $264,000, off nine thousand dollars from the same week in 2008.


Click the image for a larger version of the graph.


Lower sale prices brought the average underbid down from $9,807 last week to $9,043. The average discount as a percentage of the asking price in those instances where the home traded below list price was about 3.4%, just a slight change from last week when it was 3.6%. The percentage of home sellers who struck a deal within ten thousand dollars of the asking price increased again to seventy-seven percent, while the percentage that closed within five thousand dollars fell from fifty-three to forty-one percent.


Thanks again for reading. Have a spooky day!


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.


Real estate geeks can follow our daily updates on Twitter @norm_fisher.


Our Saskatoon home search tool offers MLS listings represented by all real estate brands, presented with more detail than you’ll find anywhere else. Check it out here.


Norm Fisher
Royal LePage Vidorra

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Saskatoon real estate week in review–October 26-30 2009
Saskatoon real estate sales were certainly brisk this week with eighty-three house and condo deals firming up, trumping last week’s sales by seventeen units and finishing well ahead of the same week last year when just forty-seven properties changed hands. As the week drew to a close, so did the October sales month. My preliminary research shows a total of three hundred and eleven residential sales for the month, an increase of forty-six percent from last October’s dismal numbers, and growth of twenty-five percent when compared to the five-year October average of about two hundred and forty-eight Saskatoon homes.


New listings of houses and condos slowed again and dropped to their lowest level since the first week of 2009 to finish at just sixty-three, making this one of just four weeks this year in which unit sales exceeded new listings. This week’s total listings fell by nine properties compared to last week, and dropped thirty-one homes compared to the same week last year.



Naturally, the number of residential listings offered for sale on the Saskatoon multiple listing service declined again, falling fifty-three properties from last week to nine-hundred and forty-three, reaching their lowest level since early May of 2008. On a year-over-year basis, total active residential listings are down six hundred and sixty-one properties. The existing inventory of single-family detached houses sits at five hundred and fifty-six, down from nine hundred and seventy-nine for the same week last year. Active condo listings are presently at three hundred and twenty-one, off from five hundred and twenty-three at this time last year.



The number of cancelled or withdrawn listings fell to just sixteen this week, and seven of those rose from the ashes (hey, it’s Halloween) to reappear as a new listing on the Saskatoon MLS system. Approximately zero home buyers were fooled by the move. An additional forty-eight sellers adjusted their asking price in hopes of attracting a buyer.


It was another huge week for condominiums which accounted for thirty-six of the eighty-three reported sales. Perhaps more significant, ten of those condos showed sale prices from $75,000 to $99,900. Consequently, the average selling price of a Saskatoon home took a beating falling to just $254,912, its lowest level since June of this yearand about thirty-five thousand dollars below the same week a year ago. The six-week average slipped four thousand dollars from a week before to $276,159, and finished roughly sixteen thousand dollars below last year’s number. The four-week median price slid six thousand dollars from last week to $264,000, off nine thousand dollars from the same week in 2008.


Click the image for a larger version of the graph.


Lower sale prices brought the average underbid down from $9,807 last week to $9,043. The average discount as a percentage of the asking price in those instances where the home traded below list price was about 3.4%, just a slight change from last week when it was 3.6%. The percentage of home sellers who struck a deal within ten thousand dollars of the asking price increased again to seventy-seven percent, while the percentage that closed within five thousand dollars fell from fifty-three to forty-one percent.


Thanks again for reading. Have a spooky day!


Map displaying the boundaries of Saskatoon real estate areas 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.


Real estate geeks can follow our daily updates on Twitter @norm_fisher.


Our Saskatoon home search tool offers MLS listings represented by all real estate brands, presented with more detail than you’ll find anywhere else. Check it out here.


Norm Fisher
Royal LePage Vidorra

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Media Release

Release: Immediate
Date: Friday October 30, 2009
Contact: Mike Lobsinger, Chief Executive Officer Lake Placid Group of Companies


(Saskatoon, SK, Canada): Michael E. Lobsinger, Chief Executive Officer of the Lake Placid Group of Companies, announced today that Lake Placid is in a situation where delays have arisen around the deadline with the City of Saskatoon. For this, Lake Placid sincerely apologizes.


International finance is a complex and time consuming process. Lake Placid continues to work with its international financier to provide the $200 Million credit facility that is required for the development of Saskatoon River Landing.


All development and legislative approvals were not obtained until May 2009. Pursuant to the lender’s written financial commitment, the financing is still expected to arrive but will not do so in time to meet the October 30 deadline. The City of Saskatoon will be advised that although Lake Placid is not in a position to meet today’s deadline, it may be in that position very shortly.


It is particularly unfortunate that circumstances beyond the control of Lake Placid have resulted in missing this important deadline. Lake Placid has spent two years and over $7 Million planning this premier development which includes payment to the City of Saskatoon of over $700,000. Lake Placid has received significant interest from the local community for the purchase of residential properties, and from commercial tenants and hoteliers. They will be contacted directly.


Lake Placid would like to thank all of the supporters of this project including the City of Saskatoon administration, City Council and the Mayor’s office for their significant support in the progress made to date. In addition, Lake Placid would like to thank the Premier of Saskatchewan and the appropriate Ministers who worked diligently to pass the necessary amendments to the Condominium Properties Act and the Land Titles Act which allow for the development of mixed use projects in Saskatchewan. Without those legislative amendments which were passed in May 2009, this project could not have proceeded.


Lake Placid believes in the future of the great city of Saskatoon and has every intention of developing there in the near future. The company thanks everyone for their patience and understanding in this matter.

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Renovations are already underway on the main level of the 2nd Avenue Lofts in downtown Saskatoon. According to a media release issued by The Partnership yesterday, the retail space located at the corner of 2nd Avenue North and 23rd Street Eastwill be home to the Uptown Market, a full service independent grocery store which will also house a deli and a coffee shop.


A British Columbia businessman, Rexy Silva and his daughter, Tabitha will operate the Uptown Market and offer a full selection of fresh produce, meats, eggs, dairy products and other essentials. They hope to have the 5,200 square foot grocery store open by Christmas of this year.


Saskatoon’s Central Business District has been without a grocery store since late 2004 when the Extra Foods on 3rd Avenue North closed its doors.


Learn more about the Central Business District.


If you live in Saskatoon we’d sure appreciate hearing your comments about your neighbourhood. Please visit our “Saskatoon neighbourhoods” page and let us know what you love about your community.


Norm Fisher
Royal LePage Vidorra

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Saskatoon real estate week in review–October 19-23 2009
Unit sales of single-family detached houses and condominiums saw a small increase to sixty-six units this week, up seven properties from last week and sharply higher than the same week last yearwhen Saskatoon real estate agents reported just thirty-eight sales to the multiple listing service. While our market is unquestionably seeing a typical seasonal slow down, interest and activity seem to be stronger than we would expect for this time of year. Month-to-date, total residential sales sit at two hundred and twenty-five properties with a full week remaining in the month. Total sales for October of 2008 were two hundred and thirteen while the five-year average for the month of October is two hundred and forty-eight, a number which we will certainly see beat this year by around twenty percent, even if it’s a slow week.


New listings of Saskatoon homesalso bounced slightly higher to seventy-two units, up from sixty-four listings last week, but lower than the same week last year when ninety-five properties were offered for sale.



Active listings in the residential category declined again. The change was small, but enough to pull the total inventory of Saskatoon MLS listings below the one thousand unit thresholdfor the first time in sixteen months. The week closed showing nine hundred and ninety-six active listings, ten fewer than last week, and well off of the sixteen hundred and ninety homes that were available last year at this time. The total active inventory consists of five hundred and eighty-three single-family homes and three hundred and forty-eight condos. Last year at this time, those two numbers stood at one thousand and fifty, and five hundred and thirty-three respectively.



Just twenty-one listings were cancelled or withdrawn from the market this week and fifteen of those re-appeared amongst the “new listings” for another kick, most at a new price. An additional thirty-nine home sellers adjusted the asking price on their home hoping to bag a buyer before winter sets in and demand softens further.


Twenty-seven of this week’s sixty-six sales were condos, and consequently, the average selling price of a Saskatoon home took a huge dip falling to its lowest point since June.The average finished at just $265,032, thirty-eight thousand dollars behind last week, and fifteen thousand dollars lower than it was at this time last year. The six-week average fell fifty-four hundred dollars on a week-over-week basis to close at $280,016, about fifteen thousand five hundred dollars off of last year’s number. The four-week median fell to $270,000, down from $272,900 last week, and falling below last year’s number by five thousand dollars.


Click the image for a larger version of the graph.


In spite of lower prices overall, Saskatoon home sellers did reasonably well when it came to negotiations with eight sales at list price, six sales above asking price, and the remaining fifty-two properties averaging a discount of just $9,807, down from last week in real dollars, but a higher discount as a percentage of the asking price. The average discount where sales occurred below asking price was 3.6%, up from 3.2% last week. However, a significantly lower median led to many more sales within $5,000 of the asking price as this category accounts for fifty-three percent of all sales, up from thirty-five percent last week, and about as high as I ever recall it being.



Aggressive price growth in Canada’s largest markets continues to push the average price of a Canadian home higher, and in fact, they’re now at record levels of $331,602. Toronto’s average selling price is up $40,000 year-over-year to $406,877 and Vancouver’s prices have increased $75,000 over the same period. I suppose we can consider ourselves lucky to have what appears to be some measure of house price stability in Saskatoon, but it’s hard not to feel that something is going terribly wrong in Canadian housing and I can’t help but wonder how we’ll be impacted if a house of cards begins to fall in our nation’s largest markets. This week, the media was buzzing with talk of a Canadian real estate bubble. Here are a handful of the stories that ran this week.


Bank of Canada monitors real estate surge

CMHC bubble is 100% Canadian made

Why Canada’s housing bubble will burst

CMHC’s growth fuels worries over new risks

Carney urges prudence in housing market


Expect to hear more of this talk in the weeks ahead as our government attempts to throw some cool water on a housing market that appears to be out of control.


Personally, I think prices are reaching their peak across the nation and that some cracks are beginning to show. In Saskatoon, where prices have remained flat for most of 2009, there is probably little hope for sellers that better times than these are on the horizon. If you want to sell your home, you should probably put that goal at the top of your priority list to complete before the end of 2009. This little real estate boom could end as abruptly as it started earlier this year. That’s what my gut is telling me today.


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.


Real estate geeks can follow our daily updates on Twitter @Norm_Fisher.


Our Saskatoon home search tool offers MLS listings represented by all real estate brands, presented with more detail than you’ll find anywhere else. Check it out here.


Norm Fisher
Royal LePage Vidorra

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Saskatoon’s MLS listings inventory closed the day below one thousand units today for the first time since early May of 2008when the total number of residential properties for sale initially crossed into four digit territory. At the close of business today, 999 Saskatoon homes showed an active status on the multiple listing service.


Saskatoon MLS listings reached their 2009 peak during the week of May 18-22when total inventory climbed to 1,528 properties and have been declining fairly consistently since that time.


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.


If you live in Saskatoon we’d sure appreciate hearing your comments about your neighbourhood. Please visit our “Saskatoon Neighbourhoods” page and let us know what you love about your community.


Norm Fisher
Royal LePage Vidorra

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Saskatoon real estate week in review–Oct. 12-16 2009
After eight weeks of bouncing up and down Saskatoon home sales declined for the second week in a row to finish the week with fifty-nine properties sold, three fewer than last week, but still ahead of the same week last year by fourteen properties. By this time last year we had pretty much headed into less than fifty territory, and we stayed there until the third week of Januarywhen things started to pick up again. We know now that all things are possible in the Saskatoon real estate market. While some kind of a slow down is normal and expected at this time of the year I will be surprised if we don’t continue to see sales exceed those of late 2008. Recent hikes to fixed term rates may very well get some people going and we’re up against a fairly weak performance in the closing quarter of last year.


New listings of Saskatoon houses and condos slowed even more falling to just sixty-four homes, down from one hundred and six last week, and fifty percent lower than the ninety-six properties listed during the same week last year.


Click the image for a larger version of the graph.


Active listings in the residential category fell by thirty-six properties over the course of the week to finish at one thousand and six, down six hundred and sixty-seven units from the same time in 2008 and getting close to breaking into triple digit territory for the first time in eighteen months. While unit sales were strong in comparison to the number of new listings introduced to the inventory, the decline was pushed along by thirty properties that expired without a sale, so we may see a number of those reintroduced to the Saskatoon MLS system next week. In any case, it looks nearly certain that the inventory level will find its bottom somewhere below the thousand unit mark, and nearly as certain that it will get there by the beginning of November as an additional ninety-five properties have a scheduled expiry date between now and then. As of today, there are five hundred and eighty-four detached houses and three hundred and fifty-three condominiums displaying an active status.



Just twenty-two listings were canceled or withdrawn from the market this week and nearly half of those came back around disguised as a new listing. Is anybody fooled by this game? Forty-four home sellers adjusted their asking price.


The average selling price of a Saskatoon home took another step higher this week, gaining over ten thousand dollars from the previous week to finish at $303,111, the second highest weekly average for 2009. The six-week average moved up just one hundred and thirty dollars to $285,424, about fifteen thousand dollars shy of last year’s number when it sat at $300,599. The four-week median price spiked higher, gaining ten thousand dollars on the previous week to reach $272,900, up from $270,000 for the same week in 2008.


Click the image for a larger version of the graph.


The average underbid on the Saskatoon homesthat sold for less than the asking price fell slightly from $10,626 to $10,059, but the average discount as a percentage of the asking price was almost unchanged at 3.2%. Seventy-one percent of home buyers paid within ten thousand dollars of the asking price, on par with the week before. Fewer large discount sales caused the $10,001-$15,000 category to grow to nineteen percent from fourteen percent last week.



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.


Real estate geeks can follow our daily updates on Twitter @Norm_Fisher.


Our Saskatoon home search tool offers MLS listings represented by all real estate brands, presented with more detail than you’ll find anywhere else. Check it out here.


Norm Fisher
Royal LePage Vidorra

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The trades training centre at Mount Royal Collegiate will undergo a $3.6 million dollar expansion in a joint effort between the federal and provincial government according to a story on the Star Phoenix website. Nearly $3.2 million dollars in funding will be provided by Western Economic Diversification Canadawhile the province contributes roughly $366,000.


"In order to ensure we continue our economic growth and to build a more diverse, dynamic and cosmopolitan community, both in Saskatoon and right across the province, we need to make sure that more people have more education and more skills training and that way they can help to sustain the growth. The Saskatoon Trades and Skills CentreInc. will help meet the demand for skilled tradespeople in the province and expand Saskatchewan’s economic opportunities,"  said Rob Norris, minister of advanced education, employment and labour.


Star Phoenix story here.Learn more about the Mount Royal area of Saskatoon. Visit the Saskatoon Trades and Skills Centre website.


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 @Norm_Fisher.


Norm Fisher
Royal LePage Vidorra

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Installing a high-efficiency furnace in your home is certainly good for the environment, and it’s also good for the household budget, in some cases reducing energy costs by more than thirty percent. In fact, according to SaskEnergy, “upgrading your heating equipment is the best improvement you can make to save energy and money.”


The chart below demonstrates potential savings derived from the installation of a high-efficiency furnace, based on average home owner's use of natural gas and electricity in Saskatchewan. Electrical costs are based on continuous operation of the furnace motor during the winter months and utility rates that were effective on June 1, 2009. Actual savings may vary based on a number of variables.



In addition to the energy savings that you’ll see through the use of a more efficient heating appliance there are several other opportunities for savings when you upgrade.


•    There is no provincial sales tax payable on “ENERGY STARqualified furnaces and boilers.

•    You could qualify for an upgrade grant of up to $1,420 through the Saskatchewan EnerGuide for Houses Retrofit Grant Program.

•    According to ENERGY STAR, a programmable thermostat can further reduce energy consumption costs by as much as $180 a year, plus you can qualify for an additional $15 rebate with the Programmable Thermostat Rebate from SaskEnergy.

•    The ENERGY STAR Loan Program provides financing at prime plus 2% on approved credit. *

•    The cost of your new high-efficiency furnace qualifies for the Federal Home Renovation Tax Creditand could increase your saving by hundreds of dollars.


If all of that isn’t enough to convince you, here’s an added bonus; a high-efficiency heating system will increase the resale value of your home and make it more attractive to a growing number of energy conscious home buyers.


* Visit the SaskEnergy websitefor full details including terms and conditions.


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.


If you live in Saskatoon we’d sure appreciate hearing your comments about your neighbourhood. Please visit our “Saskatoon Neighbourhoods” page and let us know what you love about your community.


Norm Fisher
Royal LePage Vidorra

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Willowgrove residents who have been hoping to send their kids to school closer to home may be waiting more than three years for the planning and construction of schools in the growing Saskatoon neighbourhood.


According to a story in today’s Star Phoenix a public elementary school was originally planned to start construction in April of 2010 with completion and opening slated for the fall of 2011. Originally, the public school board planned to build a joint facility with a City of Saskatoon recreational centre. The Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schoolshas decided that they would like their school to be part of the same complex. A report to the public school board says delays could push completion beyond January 2013 while construction costs escalate at a projected $600,000 to $750,000 per year.


Public school students living in Willowgrove are currently taken by bus to Forest Grove School, while students in the catholic system are driven to Saint Volodymyr School.


Learn more about the Willowgrove area here.


Update: From the October 20, 2009 Star Phoenix- Willowgrove school project waits for government funding.


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 @Norm_Fisher.


Norm Fisher
Royal LePage Vidorra

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Statistics Canada’s new housing price index for August 2009 shows modest increases of just 0.1% from July to August in Saskatoon, and across the nation. On a year-over-year basis, the price of a new home in Canada fell 3.1% in August when compared to the same month last year. The decrease in the cost to build was more than twice that in Saskatoon, or 7.6% lower than it was a year ago, while new home prices grew 1.8% in Regina.


New house prices took their greatest tumble in Edmonton where the cost to build a new home fell 11.4% from last year. Victoria followed at -10%. Vancouver was down 7.8%. Calgary was off by 6.3%.  St. John’sled on the plus side showing increases of 7.5%.



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 @Norm_Fisher.


Norm Fisher
Royal LePage Vidorra

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