Other tidbits from the Saskatoon section of the report include the following:

• While sales are still off of last year’s numbers average prices continue to edge up.
• Balanced conditions characterize the market overall.
• Rising demand could create a “tightening of supply” in the single-family home inventory.
• Multiple offers have re-emerged in prime “hot pocket neighbourhoods” but remain the exception.
• First time buyers account for the “lion’s share” of activity.
• A “good selection” of condominiums still exists.
• Buyers remain cautious, as do developers
• Speculation is virtually “non-existent” in the Saskatoon market.

The report provides market opinions provided by Remax brokers in 16 major Canadian markets including Remax Saskatoon. Read the full 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.

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

Canada’s Finance Minister, Jim Flaherty will announce this morning a change in lending rules that will further limit the amount of cash buyers can borrow to finance a home according to a report on Globe and Mail.

Stimulus cash, and historically low interest rates have created an enticing environment for Canadian home buyers who have flooded the market to produce near record sale numbers across much of the nation. The average selling price of a Canadian home gained nineteen percent in a year while the economy was largely stagnant, prompting talk of a housing bubbleand concern that some buyers may not be able to service their current debt levels when rates return to historical norms.

There is general consensus in the financial community that raising interest rates is not the right answer to cool what some see as an overheated housing market. Bringing this beast under control without mucking things up for the economy in general is a delicate dance. Some are speculating that the rule changes will bring tougher qualification rules, and perhaps a reduction in the maximum allowable amortization period to repay a mortgage. The Canadian government reduced the maximum allowable amortization period from 40 years to 35 years in July of 2008 following a massive run up in home prices across Canada.

Flaherty will address reporters in Ottawa this morning at 8:00 AM Eastern.

Update: New Canadian mortgage rules effective April 19 2010

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.

Norm Fisher
Royal LePage Vidorra

Effective April 19, 2010 the following changes will take effect.

Home buyers must qualify for their mortgage using the five-year fixed mortgage rate, regardless of the term that they chose to finance their home.

Refinance loans will be limited to ninety percent of a home’s value.

A twenty percent down payment will be required to finance government backed mortgage insurance on investment property.

Do these changes go far enough to cool the Canadian housing market?

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.

Norm Fisher
Royal LePage Vidorra

Street level, three-dimensional images provide a close-up view of any location, flickr images contributed by users around the globe provide a glimpse into the past and in some cases, streaming video may open a window into the present. If that’s not enough to blow you away take a walk indoors or gaze towards the heavens for an astronomically complete representation of the sky above.

Blaise Aguera y Arcas, a Microsoft architect presented new developments to their Bing Maps at the TED 2010conference happening in California showing us how various technologies and bits of data are being integrated into their mapping software to change the way we can interact with maps and data. This eight minute video is a must watch for any tech geek.

Imagine the possibilities for 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.

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

Following a lengthy investigation, the Competition Bureau announced in early November that they believed some of CREA’s rules limit the options that real estate agents might otherwise provide consumers in marketing their homes if the rules didn’t exist. At the time, CREA indicated that they were interested in working towards a settlement and apparently; discussions have been ongoing since that time. In a Globe and Mail open forumtoday, CREA President Dale Ripplinger claimed that the two parties were “close” to reaching an agreement that would settle the dispute, and expressed that he was “surprised” by the bureau’s announcement that the case would head to a Competition Tribunal for resolution.

An overview of the issues identified buy the bureau as problematic can be found here.The Competition Bureau's release on this matter is here. CREA's response to the Competition Bureau's move 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.

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

Norm Fisher

Royal LePage Vidorra

Single-family detached home (houses) sales fell flat in Saskatoon during the month of January, finishing with just one hundred and fifteen firm sales, lower than December by nearly two-dozen units and well off of the one hundred and sixty-four properties sold in January of 2009. The inventory of available houses edged higher by thirty-one units from the previous month to three hundred and eighty-six homes. Lower sales and a larger inventory pushed the absorption rate (months of inventory) up nearly a full month to 3.4 and while remaining on the low side of “normal” reached its highest level since April of 2009. Active listings remained well below levels seen last year when buyers had six hundred and eighty-eight single-family homes to choose from.

After a strong finish to 2009 house prices moderated on a month-over-month basis by all three measurements that we tracked, but continued to show gains year-over-year. The average selling price of a house tumbled nearly thirty thousand dollars from last month, falling below $300,000 for the first time since March of last year but maintaining annual gains of just over six thousand dollars. The median selling price was down seventeen thousand dollars on the month to $283,000, not quite six thousand dollars higher than it was at the close of the same month last year. The three-month average inched lower by four thousand dollars to reach $308,633 and recorded a gain of over seventeen thousand dollars on a year-over-year basis.

The average price per square foot paid for a Saskatoon house also fell, though not as sharply as the other measures. Saskatoon home buyers paid $248 per foot in January, down five dollars from the month before, and just two dollars more than the average in January 2009.

Sales of Saskatoon condominiums also slipped from the month before but managed to eek out some modest year-over-year gains as a total of fifty-eight units traded, just four fewer than December, and fourteen properties higher than the same month in 2009. Active listings finished lower by just three units when compared to the previous month with just two hundred and fifty-two available homes, down from three hundred and sixty-three a year ago. Months of inventory remained steady from one month to the next, and year-over-year at 4.3.

The price of Saskatoon condos slipped lower in all three categories. The average sale price came in at $214,072 losing more than fourteen thousand dollars from the previous month, and down a little better than six thousand dollars from January 2009. The median price slid nine thousand from last month to $213,700 to show a loss of roughly $6K from a year earlier. The weakest month for condos prices last year was October, and as that month fell out of the three-month average calculation this measure managed an upward push to $229,423 to show a gain of nearly five thousand dollars from last month and an increase of just under two thousand dollars on the year.

The average price paid per square foot for a Saskatoon condominium was higher than last month by three dollars reaching $227, a gain of fourteen dollars from the previous January.

Remember, averages and cost per square foot numbers can provide some useful insights into pricing trends but they’re not as useful when engaging in an actual transaction. If you’re buying or selling you should be seeking current information on active listings and recent sales, which are most comparable to your property in terms of location, size, features and amenities.

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

Saskatoon REALTORS® assisted 179 homebuyers with the purchase of a home during January of 2010. This number was down 16% from January 2009 when 212 homes changed hands.

The average residential selling price was $270,191 down 3% from January 2009, which had an average residential selling price of $ 278,939. The average selling price declined slightly due to the increased number of sales in the $ 250,000 to $275,000 price range. This price range had the highest number of unit sales in January.

Inventory levels continued to correct in the month of January with fewer listings being taken. REALTORS® listed 394 residential properties, down 23% from January 2009 when 512 properties were listed for sale. Home buyers had 736 homes to select from at the end of January as compared to the same time last year when 1156 homes were available for sale. January’s number is up slightly from December 2009 when 703 properties were available for purchase.

The residential dollar volume of $48,364,000.00 was down 18% due to lower sales numbers and increased activity in the mid price range of homes. Dollar volume is expected to increase significantly as the year 2010 progresses.

The real estate market in areas surrounding Saskatoon was very active. Unit sales were up 17% in January with 34 units selling as compared to 29 units selling in the same month last year. The average selling price was $214,976 up 5% from January 2009 when the average selling price was $204,166. January dollar volume was $7,309,200 up 23% from January 2009.

The real estate market is expected to remain steady for the first quarter of this year. Days to sell in January were 38 days on average within the city limits and 59 days in areas surrounding the City of Saskatoon. Consumer confidence remains high, interest rates are low, both factors contributing to a healthy real estate market.

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