A spell of warm dry weather has provided an opportunity for site work to begin at the new St. Mary School site in Pleasant Hillat 327 Avenue N South.

The $14.6 million dollar project was won by PCL Construction Management Inc. in late August and it is expected that it could be completed by early 2012. Construction was originally slated to begin in the fall of 2009 but the Ministry of Educationforced a scaling back of the size of the new school causing delays.

When completed, the new catholic system school will provide instruction to children in kindergarten through grade 8. The school is expected to feature an indoor track for walking and running, exercise facilities, a pediatric wellness clinic and community gathering spots. It’s part of the Pleasant Hill revitalization project.

The Ministry of Education will fund the majority of the project. Corporate donations include $500,000 from the PotashCorp for the walking track and $500,000 from Cameco Corp. for the pediatric clinic.

I had hoped to post on this "report" earlier but some technical gremlins got in the way. For some reason, when I added Mike to our contributors list, Wordpress took the position that I should no longer write here and would only allow my posts to go up with either Riel's or Mike's name and image. In any case, for the benefit of the archives, I put forward the Remax Market Trends Report for Fall of 2010 that was released Tuesday with this media release, an excerpt of which follows.

“If anything demonstrates the underlying health of the national housing picture, it’s the surge in sales of luxury properties this year,” says Michael Polzler, Executive Vice President, RE/MAX Ontario-Atlantic Canada. “We know from experience that this segment of the market is usually the first to show pressure cracks when a market is softening- that has certainly not been the case this year, even during the summer slowdown.”

With the diminished risk of a W recession occurring, rebounding commodity and equity markets, and more positive economic data emerging daily, the outlook for the residential housing market has vastly improved over the past three months. Yet, markets are expected to record softer sales activity in the final quarter of the year, in comparison to the same period in 2009.

The media release is here.

The full report is here.

Coverage from the Globe and Mail 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.

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

Some Lakeviewarea residents are pushing the city of Saskatoon for a sound attenuation wall along Highway 16 between Circle Drive and Boychuk Drive. Residents who back the highway say that the noise is unbearable and needs to be dealt with soon.

The city has spent nearly $25 million on sound walls over the past few years but says that while the stretch of road along the south edge of Lakeview is a high on the priority list, the money needed to complete the near $5 million dollar project isn’t in the budget at this time.

More from the Star Phoenix here.

Before I elaborate on the intriguing title to my first ever blog entry, I would like to thank Norm Fisher and his team for the warm welcome to their fine blog.  A big part of my goal in conducting a real estate practice is educating my clients.  My goal will be the same in providing the occasional snippet to the TeamFisher blog.  So, without further delay, a prudent beginning entry is to discuss money (insert joke about lawyer(s) and money here).  Specifically, when I meet with a client to sign documentation with respect to their sale, their number one question is, “When do I get my money?”  Most sellers expect that they will have their sale proceeds on the actual possession date.  However, the typical wait is closer to three to six business days.  Here is the reason why:

In order for a buyer to take possession of their new property, he or she must have signed their mortgage documentation and tendered their total down payment amount to their lawyer by the possession date (in addition to having home insurance in place if the dwelling is a house).  On the seller’s end, their sale documentation must also be fully executed by the possession date.  On that basis, the buyer will be entitled to take possession.  However, just because the mortgage has been signed does not mean that a bank’s mortgage proceeds will automatically be wired by them into the buyer’s lawyer’s trust account.  Rather, before mortgage proceeds can be requisitioned by the buyer’s lawyer (which in turn are then sent over to the seller’s lawyer), two important changes must be made on title to the subject matter property at the Saskatchewan Land TitlesRegistry:  1)  The seller’s name has to be removed off of title and replaced with the buyer’s name (this is effected by way of the seller’s sale documentation, which will include a properly executed ‘transfer authorization’); and 2) The buyer’s mortgage has to be registered against title (an actual copy of the mortgage signed by the buyer is sent to Land Titles); the lender of the mortgage funds must have a “secured interest” against the buyer’s title to the subject matter property before any money is actually dispersed by that lender to the buyer’s lawyer.  Describing the above is much easier when I am able to reference an actual title with my client, but I hope this makes sense.

About ten years ago, the Saskatchewan Land Titles system had a massive overhaul and converted to an electronic, automated system that, for example, now enables lawyers and the like to scan and email documents to them.  Whereas in the “old” system, Land Titles took weeks to transfer title and register a mortgage against title, they now take on average two to four business days (the actual amount of time varies based on how busy Land Titles is in processing).  As I had explained above, both the buyer and seller must have their respective documentation fully executed by the possession date (this is explicitly stated in the standard form Offer to Purchase that realtors use).  The usual practice is for the seller and buyer to go to see their lawyer(s) two or three days prior to the possession date (Why so late?  The buyer’s lawyer often does not have what he or she needs from the buyer’s bank to prepare the actual mortgage until two or three days prior to the possession date while on the seller’s end, it is simply the normal time frame and a function of narrow time lines.)  So, let’s say it is two days prior to the possession date and the buyer’s mortgage and seller’s transfer authorization have been signed.  Documents will then be submitted to Land Titles for registration and changes to be made on title.  If, for example, Land Titles is running at four business days to register changes at the time the documents are submitted, we will run into a situation where the buyer will take possession but the actual mortgage funds are not yet in place.  I know it seems odd that someone can move into a house without it, in effect, being paid for.  However, this potentially concerning concept is underscored by the importance of the mortgage documentation having to be signed by the buyer (because we know that once the mortgage documentation has been signed, the mortgage money is coming, simply delayed, pending registration) and lawyers operating on trust conditions (another blog entry for another day).

Once the buyer’s lawyer has confirmation that changes have been made on title to the subject matter property (an automatic notice is sent by Land Titles to the buyer’s lawyer), mortgage funds are then requisitioned (it takes a day or two to actually receive the mortgage funds following requisition – some banks are quicker than others!) and forwarded to the seller’s lawyer for dispersal, which includes paying out the seller’s mortgage (if applicable), paying real estate commissions and legal fees and then finally sending the sale proceeds to the seller.  The seller’s lawyer will usually ask the seller to bring a void cheque to their meeting, since direct deposit of your sale proceeds is the quickest and most efficient way to get your money!

This is the basic explanation as to why a seller usually does not have his or her sale money until after the possession date.  I appreciate any comments or questions that readers may have!

Mike Derbowka
Cuelenaere and Company

The Saskatoon Region Association of REALTORS® (SRAR) released the residential real estate statistics for September of 2010today, accompanied by this release.

For the month of September unit sales were down by 13% with 304 units selling in Saskatoon as compared to 351 in September of 2009. Year to date unit sales are down 7% with 2,830 properties having sold. The average time on the market was 39 days. The greatest sales activity was in the $300,000 to $350,000 price range.

Click the image for a larger version of the graph.

The average residential selling price in September was $312,582, up 12% from September 2009 when it was $279,457. Year to date, the average selling price is up 6% and stands at $294,465. The increased average selling price indicates sustained activity in the mid to upper price range. Another contributing factor is with new home construction being active, numerous new homes are being sold through the MLS® system. Often these new homes are in the mid to higher price range impacting the average selling price.

Click the image for a larger version of the graph.

Year to date, REALTORS® have sold $833,335,308 worth of real estate, down 2% from 2009 when $848,096,579 of real estate had sold by this time. Listing numbers are up 15% from September 2009 with 594 properties being listed last month. Year to date, new listings are up by 3% with 5,626 properties being placed on the market. Home buyers had 1,304 homes to select from at the end of September.

Click the image for a larger version of the graph.

The market also softened somewhat in communities around the city (Martensville, Warman, Clavet and Dundurn, etc.). 79 sales took place, down 34% from September 2009 when 119 homes were sold. The average selling price for September in these communities was $249,825, down 8% from September 2009 when it was $271,401. Listing numbers were down slightly in the month of September with 272 properties being placed on the market, down 7% from September 2009 when 294 homes were listed.

Consumers continue to express their confidence in the local economy as evidenced by their buying patterns. Employment numbers continue to increase. New home construction is doing well, retail sales are strong and when coupled with low interest rates, conditions are favourable for a sustainable market environment. Sales and listing activity is expected to remain similar throughout the fourth quarter.

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