It was another reasonably strong week for Saskatoon real estate sales considering the time of year. A total of 71 detached house and condo sales were reported to the local MLS®. This week’s sales were up by 21 on the previous weekand finished higher by 12 compared against the same week last year.

New MLS® listings of houses and condominiums matched sales at 71 units for a weekly decline of just two, but finished higher by eight on a year-over-year basis.

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The total inventory of active MLS® listings in the residential category continued to trail lower as it fell by 30 units this week to finish at 1119, up 20 listings when compared to inventory levels at this time last year. This morning’s numbers show 668 single-family homes and 383 condominiums for sale within the city of Saskatoon. Those two categories stood at 633 and 408 respectively at this time last year. You may recall that for most of the year, single-family home inventory had been lower and condo inventory had been higher on a year-over-year basis so we are seeing a bit of a change there.

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Cancelled and withdrawn listings slid lower to 29 homes with 14 of those doing a turnabout and re-entering the system with a new MLS® number, and in most cases, a new price. An additional 39 price adjustments were recorded on the system and 17 listings came to the end of their term and expired without a sale.

Weekly prices bounced higher this week with the average sale price moving nearly $18,000 to $323,173. The median picked up close to $19,000 on the week to finish at $313,000. The six-week average managed to inch lower by a few hundred dollars over the course of the past week and closed at $325,129 up from $307,651 a year ago. The four-week median moved in the opposite direction and gained $5,500 on a weekly basis to finish the week at $305,500 claiming an annual gain of just over $10,000.

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Overbid sales were fairly steady at four but the average overbid was up to $6,275. Another three Saskatoon home sellers found a buyer willing to pay what they were asking. Most sales (64 of 71) closed at a price that was lower than the list by an average of just $9,605.

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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

Sales and new listings both continued on a downward trend this week, as is typical of this time of year.

Saskatoon real estate agents reported just 50 sales of single-family homes and condominiums to the multiple listing service®  over the course of the week. That marks a week-over-week decline of five units bringing one of just a handful of weeks, in recent months, where sales fell short on annual basis. During the same week last yeara total of 68 sales were recorded for those two housing types.

New listings followed, trailing lower and falling 10 on a weekly basis to just 73 homes. However, that was still enough to beat activity for the same week last year when just 66 Saskatoon homes were offered for sale.

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The inventory of active listings in the residential category of the Saskatoon MLS® continued to hug last year’s trend line as the week closed showing 1149 properties for sale, down 25 from the close of the previous week, and up just 14 units from where it stood at the same time last year. The inventory bubble that formed in the back half of 2008 seems to be ancient history as far as Saskatoon home buyers and sellers are concerned. I expect that the inventory levels seen through 2010 and 2011 represent the new “normal” for this real estate market. Sales, by the way, appear quite “normal” as well. Sure, we are seeing some impressive numbers compared to last year, but 2010 saw sales fall below the five-year average by close to ten percent. Total residential sales for 2011, so far, put us just 2.5 percent ahead of the five-year average. Most agents that I’m speaking to on a daily basis feel that the market is balanced and that prices are fairly stable, even though the average has been climbing lately.

Turning to more specific housing categories, today’s inventory contains 686 detached single-family homes (houses) and 397 condominiums shosing an active status on the Saskatoon MLS®. Houses are up just 17 units on a year-over-year basis, while condos are down by just six.

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Cancelled and withdrawn listings remained steady at 36 homes with 20 of those returning to the system on the very same day for another go at the market. An additional 46 Saskatoon home sellers adjusted their asking price in hopes of wrapping up a deal before the holidays begin. Another 18 MLS®  listings reached the end of their term and expired from the system without a sale.

Compared to recent weeks, a lack of sales at the high end of the market brought a lower average sale price by almost ten percent on a weekly basis. That number came in at $295,386 to make its first appearance below the $300K mark since late July. At the same time, the median price for the week inched up and gained almost 5K from the week before. The six-week average price slipped lower by about five grand compared to the previous week and closed at $325,432 for a year-over-year gain of about $17,000. The four-week median price took a slide falling 10K from the previous week to reach $300,000 for an annual gain of just $10,000.

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Overbid sales came in a three but buyers resisted any urge they may have felt to pay wildly more than list price. The average overbid on those three sales was just $133. Another three sellers accepted offers at their full asking price while 44 of 50 sales completed required a little back and forth resulting in a deal that closed $10,238 below the asking price, on average.

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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

Sales of Saskatoon homes through the multiple listing service® continued on a downward trend as we would expect at this time of the year. Saskatoon real estate agents reported seven fewer sales than last weekat 55 units for a year-over year gain of just one sale.

New listings of houses and condos moved higher on a weekly basis, gaining on the previous week by six units for a total of 83 to trump new listings taken over the same period of the previous yearby 12.

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Total active MLS® listings in the residential category made an upward move for the first time in six weeks as it grew by 13 units this week to 1174. That’s just three fewer listings than were available on the system at the same point in 2010. The listings line for 2011 has pretty much identically matched last year’s numbers since late September. This morning, buyers can find 701 single-family homes and 402 condominiums showing an active status on the system. Last year, at this time, those numbers sat at 708 and 408, respectively.

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Cancelled and withdrawn listings fell to just 36 homes with 19 of those returning to the system on the very same day bearing a new MLS® number, and in most cases, a new price. An additional 35 Saskatoon home sellers completed a price adjustment. Another 13 listings expired from the system having failed to sell during the contract period.

The average selling price of a Saskatoon home edged slightly higher this week gaining about $2,500 to finish at $328,015 while the weekly median plummeted lower, falling nearly $20,000 to just $290,000. The six-week average sale price grew by about $4,500 this week to reach $330,436 and hit another record high for the year. That’s roughly $28,000 higher than it was at the same point on last year’s calendar. The four-week median price slid lower by just over one thousand dollars to finish the week at $310,000 for an annual gain that matched that of the six-week average.

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Overbid sales made a come back in the stats as four lucky sellers completed a deal above their asking price, by an average of $11,313. That large average overbid was driven higher by one area 4 sale that closed at more than $40K above the list price. Another three sellers found a buyer willing to pay exactly what they were asking while 48 of 55 sellers had to sharpen their pencil a bit to get their home sold with an average underbid on $10,414.

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

Saskatoon real estate sales slipped this week falling 14 units from the previous week for a total of 62 house and condominium sales. Still, they managed to maintain an edge over the same week a year agowhen just 49 sales were reported to the multiple listing service®.

New listings fell further, dropping 17 units from last week to just 77 properties, well below the 100 houses and condos that were listed for sale by Saskatoon real estate agents over the same period last year.

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The total inventory of active MLS® listings in the residential category continued edge lower as 51 property listings expired without a sale as the month of October closed. Today, there are a total of 1161 residential properties displaying an active status on the MLS®, 54 fewer then were available at the close of the previous week, and just nine fewer than we had at this time last year. Among those listings, buyers will find 698 single-family homes and 390 condominiums. At this time last year, those two categories of Saskatoon housing stood at 703 and 404, respectively.

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Cancelled and withdrawn listings came in higher on a weekly basis at 47 units with 23 of those homes making a same day return to the system, most at a lower price. An additional 37 sellers took a more direct route and simply adjusted the asking price of their home. As I mentioned earlier, 51 listings expired, having reached the end of their term without obtaining an acceptable offer.

On the heels of a fairly significant decline last week, the average sale price of a Saskatoon home inched higher again picking up almost $5,000 this week to reach $325,487. At the same time, the median price spiked higher gaining more then $25,000 from the previous week to hit $310,250. The six-week average price slipped just a few hundred dollars on a weekly basis falling to $325,972 to maintain a year-over-year gain of just over $21,000. The four-week median price pushed higher by close to $2,000 compared to last week and reached $311,680 to come within one thousand dollars of its peak for this year. Last year at this time, the four-week median was lower by more than $31,000.

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Overbid sales were almost a non-factor again with just one lucky seller closing a deal for more than their asking price. That seller pocketed an extra $4,000 as a bonus. An additional seven buyers offered full asking price to close their deal while 54 of 62 closed deals required some give and take, with the seller dropping an average of $10,380 to wrap things up.

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

The Saskatoon Region Association of REALTORS® (SRAR) released the residential real estate statistics for October, 2011today, accompanied by this release.

Heading into the fall, activity was down slightly for Saskatoon REALTORS® in the month of October with 309 residential properties changing hands compared with September which saw 365 sales. The trend of sales increasing over the same month last year continues however as we saw a 19% increase over October 2010 when 260 properties sold. Currently the total residential sales to date this year is 3,491 up 13% from 2010 when the total stood at 3,083 for the end of October. The $300,000 to $350,000 price range continues to be the most active with 80 sales. The average number of days to sell in the month of October was 41.

The average residential selling price in October increased to $327,245 from $294,133 in October of 2010 reflecting an 11% increase. At the end of October, the year-to-date average selling price was $309,197 up 5% from year-to-date numbers at this point in 2010 when it was $294,690. Properties listed in October totaled 557, up 23% from the same month a year ago. Year-to-date, 6,326 homes have been listed for sale, up 4% from this time in 2010 when 6,080 had placed on the market. There were a total of 1,172 active listings available at the end of October, down just slightly from October 2010 when 1,219 were available to purchase. There was a slight increase in sales activity in areas surrounding Saskatoon (e.g. Martensville, Warman, Clavet, etc.) this October with 82 sales compared with 76 homes sold in October 2010. REALTORS® listed 223 properties in these areas in the month of October. That number is up 18% from 2010 when 189 properties were placed on the market. The average selling price in these areas was $276,475 up 12% from October 2010 when the average was $245,778. During the month of October in areas surrounding Saskatoon it took 64 days for a property to sell on average. New construction continues to be strong in the City of Saskatoon and outlying communities. The employment opportunities remain strong attracting individuals to our area from across Canada as well as from outside our borders. 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