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Saskatoon real estate week in review: December 20-23 2010
After a few years of showing up for work during the last half of December one begins to learn that you generally can’t expect much in the way of an immediate return. For the most part, people are focused on other things and hunting for a home takes a back burner for all but the most motivated. Yet, we (TeamFisher) are pleasantly surprised to find ourselves strangely busy for late December with almost 2 million dollars in sales in the last ten days. Lyndon sold one yesterday and Pamela put one to bed just today, Christmas Eve. We’ll gladly take them as the next two weeks typically just get slower. It’s doubtful that more than fifty or sixty homes will move during that time. Still, it can be an exciting time for a real estate agent as these next two weeks bring us to the bottom of our annual unit sales cycle. Generally, we can expect gradual but steady improvement in the four or five months that follow. Spring is on its way and I am feeling optimistic for a good strong year.


This week’s sales moved in the expected downward direction but held up pretty well compared to most years. Saskatoon real estate agents reported thirty-seven firm sales to the multiple listing service®, a drop of just four from last week, but enough to beat sales for the same week last yearby seven homes.


While you can occasionally be surprised by stronger than expected sales activity around the holiday season you can almost place your bets on weakening listing activity. New listingsfell this week, dropping to just twenty-eight houses and condos, down from fifty-three last week, but still well ahead of the same week last year when just fifteen Saskatoon homes came on the market.


Click the image for a larger version of the graph.


The inventory of active residential listings on the multiple listing service® continued its slide dropping fifty-five homes compared to last week to settle at 922 by this morning, up just under two hundred units from the same week a year ago. The declines were spread nearly evenly across houses and condos. This morning, there are 506 active single-family home listings and 363 condominiums, down thirty-eight and thirty-two respectively from a week ago. 139 properties are scheduled to expire between now and January 1 so its entirely possible that inventory will bottom out somewhere below 800 units before it begins to build up as spring approaches.


Click the image for a larger version of the graph.


Just seventeen MLS® listings were cancelled or withdrawn this week. Most of those frustrated sellers appear to be serious about coming off the market, at least for now, as only five did an about face and immediately relisted. Price adjustments were even softer with just seven sellers changing their price. I suppose if you’re going to cancel and relist, or adjust your price, you may as well do it when more people are paying attention.


This week saw a fair share of activity at the lower half of the market and the median selling price of a Saskatoon home slipped eight thousand dollars lower to $277,000. A single sale above the one million dollar mark skewed the average selling price higher than it otherwise would have been. Still, that price measure managed to slide thirty-seven hundred dollars from last week to $318,035. The six-week average also slipped by just under a thousand dollars to $311,020 for a year-over-year gain of almost twenty-four thousand dollars. The four-week median fell eight thousand dollars from last week to $289,000 and finished ahead of the same week last year by just five thousand dollars. That’s the slimmest year-over-year gain since late August.


Click the image for a larger version of the graph.


Thirty-two of thirty-seven sales went below the asking price by $14,690, or about 4.35% of the asking price. This is a significantly higher average underbid than we’re accustomed to seeing. One of the homes sold this week went $150K below the asking price, essentially skewing the average dollar discount by more than four thousand dollars. Without it, we’d have been closer to the 10K-ish, 3-3.5% discount. Additionally, there were three sales reported at a price greater than the asking price, by an average of $3500. Another two sellers got their price.


Click the image for a larger version of the chart.


Have a great holiday everyone!


Our Saskatoon home search tool offers MLS® listings from all real estate brands with the most detail and information available anywhere. Check it out 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

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This fine piece of bathroom technology is built for those with more money than brainsthey know what to do with. However, if you’re looking to raise the level of comfort in the loo and you’ve got some bucks to throw around this toilet may be worth a look.


First of all, it sees you coming. As you approach the toilet, the lid begins to lift automatically and the seat warmer comes to life practically begging you to take a seat. Nighttime use brings additional surprises as the exterior of the bowl softly illuminates itself when you head its way. The interior is lit as well, a perfect feature for light duty deposits contributed by those who prefer to stand. He who stands misses at least half of the fun that this amazing toilet has to offer. Take a seat and it begins to make beautiful music eliminating all of the awkwardness that a silent bathroom brings at times like these. Odors are no problem either. The scented double deodorizer kicks into high gear to cover up that which cannot be masked by song. Finish your business and activate the hygienic cleaning device that treats the posterior to a warm water wash providing a “feeling of cleanliness like never before.” The warm air dryer leaves you feeling, well, dry. As you might expect of a unit of this caliber, the toilet completes its operation by flushing automatically and lowering the lid as you leave. This lid can’t be left up on purpose.


If you have $5900 U.S. that you can spare for a toilet, check it out here.


Read also: An aquarium in your toilet?


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

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Saskatoon real estate week in review: December 13-17 2010
Local home sales numbers fell below the fifty-unit line this week as Saskatoon real estate agents reported just forty-one firm sales of single-family homes and condominiums, a decline of fourteen sales from last week, and down just as much from the same week last year. If unit sales follow the typical seasonal trend they’ll remain below fifty for the next four to five weeks before beginning a pre-spring ascent.


New listingswere surprising high given the fact that the holiday season is now upon us. Fifty-three new house and condo listings were added to the Saskatoon multiple listing service® this week, nine fewer than were offered for sale last week, but up on a year-over-year basis by twenty homes.


Click the image for a larger version of the graph.


Total active residential listingscontinued to trail lower losing twenty-nine units over the course of the week to finish at 967, up 202 properties from this point in 2009. As of this morning, there are 527 single-family homes and 382 condos available on the Saskatoon MLS®, both numbers down from last week, but up from 437 and 280 respectively, year-over-year. As the year draws to a close, all of the speculation about where active listings might trend are put to rest. In hindsight, 2010 active listings flowed neatly between the highs and lows of the previous two years all year, with the two previous years switching sides at half time. We’ll almost certainly finish with a larger inventory that we had at the close of last year, likely by a hundred units or more, but there doesn’t appear to be a huge surplus of properties moving into 2011. Today, there are 185 residential MLS® listings showing an expiry date between now and January 1 so it is even possible that inventory could close 2010 even closer to 2009 levels.


Click the image for a larger version of the graph.


Sixteen MLS® listings were cancelled or withdrawn from the system this week with half of those returning immediately as a new listing and sporting a new price. An additional twenty sellers adjusted their asking price in a last ditch effort to get a deal done this year.


Encouraged by upper end market activity that was nearly non-existent last week (weekly median price increased to $320,000 from just $270,000 last week) the average selling price of a Saskatoon home bolted higher gaining more than forty thousand dollars on the week to reach $321,710. The six-week average price moved far more modestly, but also headed higher gaining twenty-three hundred dollars from last week to finish at $311,927, roughly twenty-four thousand dollars above last year’s number. The four-week median actually slipped lower by nine hundred dollars to $297,000 to claim a gain of seventeen thousand dollars when compared with the same week a year ago.


Click the image for a larger version of the graph.


Thirty-seven of forty-one homes sold this week were reported to have sold below the seller’s asking price. The average discount was $9,894 or roughly 3.1% of the advertised list price. Two Saskatoon home sellers managed a deal at full asking price and another two sold above their list for an average gain of just one hundred dollars, but hey, times are tough. :) Click the image for a larger version of the chart.


As 2010 draws to a close, I’d like to take just a moment to say thank you for making our website part of your routine. It’s been another rewarding year for TeamFisher and having the opportunity to share with you and hear your thoughts has been a big part of that. I hope we’ll see a lot of you next year as well.


Regardless of whether or not you celebrate through the holiday season, I hope the next couple of weeks provide a special opportunity for you to spend some time with those you love. I hope you’ll find some time to slow down, relax, refresh yourself and reflect. I hope that you can look back on a year that was full of pleasant surprises and special moments, but regardless of what you see in the rear view mirror I wish you and yours the very best for the year that is ahead of us. I truly hope it’s the year that you knock one out of the park, a year where everything just goes your way. Cheers!


I will publish a week in review for this coming week, though we’ll most certainly hit the publish button Sunday, instead of Saturday.


Our Saskatoon home search tool offers MLS® listings from all real estate brands with the most detail and information available anywhere. Check it out 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

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CREAeconomist Gregory Klump reports on MLS® sales and listings for the Canadian real estate market for November, 2010.



From CREA’s release:


Seasonally adjusted activity was up from October levels in two-thirds of all local markets, including eight of Canada’s ten most active markets. Month-over-month increases were reported in Calgary (+2.6 per cent), Edmonton (+6.9 per cent), Fraser Valley (+10.5 per cent), London & St. Thomas (+6.5 per cent), Montreal (+8.2 per cent), Ottawa (+4.2 per cent), Toronto (+6.0 per cent), and Greater Vancouver (+11.3 per cent). These markets accounted for more than half of national activity in November.


Actual (not seasonally adjusted) national sales activity in November 2010 was 9.3 per below levels in November 2009.


The persistence of large year-over-year declines from last year’s record levels has been masking the steady improvement in national sales activity since July 2010. A comparison of November sales activity to sales for the same month in previous years suggests that activity is currently running at more normal levels.


The actual release and some stats graphs can be found 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

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City council approved a rezoning application from the Saskatoon Co-operative Association Monday that will allow for construction of a 30,000 square foot grocery store to be located to the south of the existing Co-op convenience store and gas station at Stonebridge Boulevard and Clarence Avenue. The major Saskatoon grocer will undoubtedly be welcome in the quickly growing Stonebridgearea and should be able to attract customers from the Willows and number of other residential areas located just north of Highway 11.


Construction on the new grocery store could begin as early as the spring of 2011 and wrap up before the end of the year if all goes well. The store will ultimately employ 80-100 people according to Grant Wicks, general manager of Saskatoon Co-op.


Learn more about the Stonebridge area of Saskatoon here. View homes for sale in Stonebridge from all real estate brands 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

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In a news release yesterday, BMO states that nearly seventy percent of Canadians are “open to the idea of shorter amortizations.” The big bank is encouraging borrowers to consider the shorter, more traditional amortization period by offering low mortgage rate of just 3.54% on their five-year fixed, currently their lowest fixed rate option.


The BMO release offered the following tips for becoming mortgage free faster.


Consider a shorter amortization

  • The shorter the life of the mortgage, the less you pay in interest.
  • A shorter amortization means that you can become mortgage free faster and begin saving more for retirement.

Make sure you can afford what you signed up for

  • Stress-test your financial budget using a mortgage payment based on a higher interest rate.
  • Total housing costs (mortgage payments, property taxes, heating costs, etc.) should not consume more than one-third of household income.

Make a larger down payment

  • If you can provide a bigger down payment, it's a significant way of helping you pay less interest over the life of your mortgage.
  • If you make a down payment of least 20 per cent, you avoid paying mortgage default insurance.

Make pre-payments when you can

  • Pay weekly or bi-weekly instead of monthly.
  • Increase your mortgage payment (principal and interest).
 This option can be exercised once each calendar year, at any time, without charge.

Think carefully about fixed vs. variable


While variable rates mortgages have been a winning strategy over the long term, fixed rate mortgages (currently at historic lows) come with the peace of mind of being insulated against rate increases and knowing how much of your mortgage you will have paid down at the end of your term.


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

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Saskatoon’s public and Catholic school boards both passed resolutions this week to officially remove the pursuit of elementary schools for the Arbor Creekarea from their agendas. The respective moves practically end all speculation as to whether or not schools in the area would ever be a priority.


The writing has been on the wall since 2007 when both school boards shifted their future focus from Arbor Creek to the quickly developing neighbourhood to the northeast, Willowgrove, which will ultimately be a more densely developed area with a higher population of elementary school aged children.


In October, Dundee Realty Corp., developer of Arbor Creek and owner of the 8-acres of land set aside for schools began the process of rezoning the landfor residential use. According to a story in today’s Star Phoenix, “A letter to the Catholic school board says Dundee's plan is to develop 45 single-family lots. The two sites under redevelopment are separated by Arbor Creek Park off Horlick Crescent and Wright Crescent.”


Most children living in Arbor Creek attend school in nearby Erindale.


Read more from the Star Phoenix here. Learn more about the Arbor Creek area here. View homes for sale in Arbor Creek 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

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On December 1, the Saskatoon Region Association of Realtors reported November 2010 results for the entire residential category of Saskatoon real estate including single-family homes, condominiums, semi-detached properties, duplexes, mobile homes and vacant lots. Unit sales totaled 283 including all of these property types, an increase of twelve percent compared to the same month last yearwhen 253 residential properties changed hands. Driven by a surge in upper end sales, the average selling price of a Saskatoon home came in at record setting $312,893 last month for a year-over year gain of $35,000 (thirteen percent). This post will provide a closer look at how single-family detached homes (houses) and condominiums did in comparison to the entire residential category.


Saskatoon house sales bucked normal seasonal trends and took a big gain on a month-over month basis, climbing by twenty-seven units from October to 208 sales. House sales gained even more on a year-over-year basis with an additional 40 homes trading compared to last Novemberfor a gain of nearly twenty-five percent.


Listing inventory took a big slide over the month falling from 697 to 575. The combined effect of higher sales and declining listings pushed total months of available inventory sharply lower from October by 1.1 months to just a 2.8-month supply, below even last year’s number by 0.2 months. Still, the total number of house listings on the Saskatoon multiple listing service stood higher than last November’s 500 units.



The average selling price of a Saskatoon house came in at $326,191 for a gain of nearly nine thousand dollars compared to October, and up more than twenty-six thousand dollars when compared against the same month last year. The median price edged higher gaining $6900 on the month to $306,900. It picked up nearly twenty-five thousand dollars from the same month a year ago. The three-month average edged lower from last month to $328,000 for an annual gain of about twenty-three thousand dollars.



Saskatoon condo sales continued to decline slipping six units from the previous month to finish November at just sixty-one sales, well off of the seventy-six units that sold in November of 2009.


The total inventory of active condo listings fell by ten percent, just as it did in October. At the close of the month there were still 362 units available for sale, roughly twenty percent higher than it was at this time last year. Total months of inventory remained steady at 5.9 compared to October, but was up substantially compared against November of 2009 when the supply had dropped to 3.8 months.



Some strong sales activity at the upper end of the Saskatoon condo market, including three sales that accounted for more than two million dollars in volume, pushed prices to records levels. The average selling price closed November at nearly $280,000 to record a monthly gain of twenty-eight thousand dollars and an annual gain of more than thirty thousand. The median price moved up seventeen thousand dollars from the month before to reach its peak for the year, $257,000. That’s thirty-three thousand dollars higher than last November. The three-month average grew to $255,582 picking up nearly ten thousand dollars on the month for a year-over-year gain exceeding thirty thousand dollars.



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

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Remax released its Housing Market Outlook for 2011today calling for more balanced and stable real estate markets across Canada. Here’s a short excerpt on what they’re predicting for Saskatoon.


"Given the outlook, in-migration to Saskatoon is set to pick up once again, which will further bolster housing demand. A more diversified local economy will continue to support population growth, as cutting-edge projects like the Canadian Light Source Synchatron attract some of the best and brightest minds from Canada and abroad. Strong growth in new residential construction in 2010, and healthy starts predicted for 2011, will also support a rise in sales. First-time buyers are expected to drive demand for product priced from $250,000 to $350,000, while move-up buyers dominate the over $350,000 threshold. Investors should return to the market in increasing numbers next year, snapping up well-priced condominium and single-family properties, prompted by a vacancy rate that continues to hover near two per cent. Home sales are forecast to climb three per cent to 3,600 units by year-end, while average price posts a five per cent gain to $310,000 by year-end 2011."


The entire report is available 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

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Following what seemed like an endless string of starts and stumbles for the troubled River Landing Villageproject, local developer Victory Majors Investments Corp. seems to be delivering with a third forward step after taking the reins in late October when they purchased Lake Placid Development’s equity in the project. At that time, they produced evidence that financing to build the first phase of the proposed $200 million hotel and condominium complex had been secured. In the days that followed, a due diligence audit conducted by Deloitte concluded that Victory Major Investments could successfully bring the project to grade and complete the shoring, footing and foundation with the required underground parking garage.


The City of Saskatoon announced Thursday that the developer had met the December 2 deadline to pay the balance of the $5.2 million purchase price of “Parcel Y” at River Landing on the south edge of Saskatoon’s Central Business District. A cheque in the amount of $4,990,494 was received at city hall and documents required to facilitate the transfer of the land to Victory Majors had been provided to the developer.


Victory Majors Investments must now complete the title transfer, advise the city of a construction start date and then complete the first phase within 18 months. The developer has previously indicated that a three-year target is realistic for completion of the entire project. During the November 1 announcement that River Landing Village would move forward, Victory’s Kay Nasser indicated that the project would be built to the specifications previously approved by city council.


A look at River Landing Village is available here. Learn more about the Central Business District of Saskatoon 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

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Nowhere to Go: Homeless in Saskatoonis a short film produced by the group Passion for Action Against Homelessness. The 23-minute two-part documentary provides insights into homeless living and the challenges that these people face everyday.


“The biggest thing that I experienced was a complete loss of self-esteem. To do that, to be sitting on the sidewalk, to be visibly homeless, to look through a garbage for whatever you can find, bottles, to ask people for change you have to drop all of your self-respect. It makes you feel like you’re a whole other species and that’s one of the problems with being homeless. You’re just different from everyone else and you’re not worth it, and you don’t feel like you’re worth it.” David Ferris


Part One

Part Two


“You hear a lot of people and they think that people who are addicted to drugs must be stupid or unintelligent. If they’re poor, or on welfare they must be stupid. Just through circumstances people lose their way. From my experiences I believe the most important thing is for them to make the decision that they want to move on, that they’re ready to move on but in order to do that they need to believe that they can. Don’t let them slip through the cracks.” David Ferris


Norm Fisher
Royal LePage Vidorra

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Saskatoon real estate week in review: November 29-December 3 2010
Coming off of a surprisingly strong November that brought higher sales levels than the same month last yearfor the first time in six months, Saskatoon real estate sales continued at a fairly brisk pace given the time of year. Agents reported a total of fifty-six firm house and condo sales to record a loss of just three compared to last week and a gain of ten when compared to the same week last year.


New listingsmoved in the opposite direction pushing higher than the sixty-three units listed last week to finish the week with seventy-seven new MLS listings, some of which were recycled from month end expiries. Still, that’s a gain of twenty units on a year-over-year basis.


Click the image for a larger version of the graph.


Month end expired listings caused total active residential listings to slide lower by seventy-three units over the past seven days to close this week at 1026, about twenty-six percent above the levels we saw at this time in 2009. Today, there are 575 single-family homes and 392 condominiums showing an active status on the Saskatoon multiple listing service, a change from 484 (+19%) and 282 (+39%) respectively from the same date last year. It seems likely, given the typical weekly declines that we’ve been seeing lately that MLS inventory in Saskatoon should slip below one thousand units by the end of next week, re-entering triple digit territory for the first time since March of 2010.


Click the image for a larger version of the graph.


Thirty-one MLS listings were cancelled or withdrawn from the system this week. Fourteen of those later returned for another go at Saskatoon home buyers. An additional 30 sellers opted for a price change in hopes of enticing a buyer before the holidays.


The average selling price of a Saskatoon home slipped back to lower territory this week dropping nearly nine thousand dollars from the week before to settle at $307,355 while both of our longer term averages continued to push higher. The six-week average sale price came within a few hundred dollars of reaching the annual peak at $312,004 and finished thirty-four thousand dollars higher than it was during the same week in 2009. The four-week median price took its fourth consecutive weekly gain to hit $300K for the first time since late September. It moved five thousand dollars higher than last week and nearly eighteen thousand dollars higher than the same week, a year ago.


Click the image for a larger version of the graph.


Fifty-two of fifty-six Saskatoon home sellers signed a deal at a price below their list by $11,681 on average, or about 3.6% below the asking price. One seller sold for the full advertised amount and three were lucky enough to close a deal for a higher dollar, by $9,401 on average, skewed significantly be one new house deal that closed at $26,000 above the asking price, likely as a result of added value negotiated into the contract.


Click the image for a larger version of the chart.


Our Saskatoon home search tool offers MLS® listings from all real estate brands with the most detail and information available anywhere. Check it out 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

Read
The Saskatchewan REALTORS® Association (SRA) IDX Reciprocity listings are displayed in accordance with SRA's MLS® Data Access Agreement and are copyright of the Saskatchewan REALTORS® Association (SRA).
The above information is from sources deemed reliable but should not be relied upon without independent verification. The information presented here is for general interest only, no guarantees apply.
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