On the heels of one the quietest sales week since early April home sales bounced back as Saskatoon real estate agents reported a total of 94 single-family homes and condominiums firmly sold to the multiple listing service® this week. That number trumps the previous week’s sales by 20 units and is up over the same week last year by three.

At the same time,new Saskatoon real estate listings retreated and fell to just 106 homes, down from 144 the week before to close higher on a year-over-year basis. The same period of time during the previous year saw 92 new listings added to the MLS® system.

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The total number of active MLS® listings in the residential category dipped lower and edged closer to the 1200 mark than it has been for seven weeks. A search of the multiple listing service® this morning shows 1212 Saskatoon real estate listings, 26 fewer than were available at the same time last week. Total MLS® inventory is down roughly ten percent from the same point in 2011 when 1350 Saskatoon homes were available to Saskatoon home buyers. Today’s inventory consists of 747 single-family homes and 400 condos. A year ago, those categories were showing 806 and 470 respectively.

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The median price of a Saskatoon home inched slightly lower this week, slipping nearly two thousand dollars to $320,732. The average selling price remained high, and in fact, grew by more than seven thousand dollars to $349,960 thanks in part to a half dozen sales above the $600,000 mark, including one that approached the one-million-dollar mark and another that exceeded it. For those of you keeping score, that brings the total number of Saskatoon homes that have sold for more than one million dollars to nine this year, with four full months remaining in the year. The previous annual record was six such homes. In spite of lofty prices for the week both of our longer-term measures managed to slip marginally lower on a weekly basis. The six-week average price dropped just a few hundred dollars to $337,664 and maintained annual growth of roughly 27K. The four-week median price of a Saskatoon home slid about $650 from last week to close at $325,450 and claimed a year-over-year increase of nearly $29,000.

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Home sales exceeding the listed price remained low at just two. Those lucky sellers saw an additional $11,325 added to their bottom line. Meanwhile, 72 Saskatoon home sellers took a seat at the negotiating table and agreed to an average discount of $11,974 to close up a deal. Another 20 sellers accepted a full price offer.

Other notable MLS® activity this week includes 34 canceled and withdrawn listings,  17 expired listings and 38 price adjustments.

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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

This week, the Saskatoon residential real estate market experienced its quietest week since early spring as the number of houses and condos reported sold to the MLS® by local agents slipped to just 74. That’s down seven homes from the previous week but behind sales recorded during the same week last year by 23 properties. While year-over-year gains were quite typical throughout the second quarter, and most of the third, the last six weeks have seen sales fall below last year’s strong levels three times. Looking at MLS® sales totals for those six weeks we see an overall decline of four percent compared to total Saskatoon home sales (houses and condos) during the same period last year.

After dropping sharply last week, new listings spiked higher to 144 homes for a weekly gain of 42 and a year-over-year increase of 43 properties.  By contrast to sales, new listings added to the multiple listing service® have increased over the previous year in 12 of the past 13 weeks.

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Still, the total number of active residential listings on the Saskatoon multiple listing service® grew by just 11 properties this week to settle at 1238 by today. That’s down from 1368 at the same point in 2011. Active residential listings have remained quite stable, fluctuating between 1200 and 1250 for about 15 weeks now. Looking at more specific housing categories, we have 406 condominiums available today on the MLS®, down from 475 at the same time last year. There are 767 single-family homes showing an active status on the system today compared to 810 at this point during 2011.

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The average price of a Saskatoon home sold this past week managed to slip about seven thousand dollars to $342,237 in spite of the fact that a single house sale at more than $1.3 million skewed the numbers higher. The weekly median also slid lower dropping eighty-five hundred dollars from last week to $321,500. The six-week average sale price followed and shed seven thousand dollars from last week to settle at $337,945 for a year-over-year increase exceeding thirty thousand dollars. Meanwhile, the four-week median price fell lower by just one thousand dollars on a weekly basis to $326,000 for an annual increase of 26K.

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Overbid sales were a near non-factor with just three buyers offering to pay more than the seller's list price by an average of $2,067. Another nine offered all that the seller was asking while 62 of 74 completed sales fell short of the listed price by an average of $10,318.

Other notable MLS® activity this week includes 48 canceled and withdrawn listings,  just seven expired listings and 42 price adjustments.

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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

According to statistics released today by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), national resale housing activity remained stable from June to July 2012. Prices are off their recent peaks in Greater Vancouver and Greater Toronto but remain above year-ago levels in most markets.

Highlights:

•       Home sales activity little changed (-0.01%) from June to July.

•       Actual (not seasonally adjusted) sales up 3.3% over levels in July 2011.

•       The number of newly listed homes fell 3.3% from June to July.

•       Stable sales combined with fewer new listings firmed the national housing market, keeping it in balanced market territory.

•       The national average home price declined 2.0% on a year-over-year basis in July.

•       The Composite Aggregate Benchmark home price was up 4.5% in July, its smallest gain in over a year.

Sales over MLS® Systems of Canadian real estate Boards and Associations held steady in July 2012 from the previous month, edging back by less than one-tenth of a percentage point.

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 real estate market continued at a steady pace this week with agents reporting a total of 81 houses and condos firmly sold, down seven from the previous week, and up just one when compared against sales recorded during the same week last year. 

New listings finally showed some signs of slowing. Just 102 Saskatoon houses and condos were added to the multiple listing service® over the course of the week. That’s the lowest number for any week since January when it dipped below that level three times. This week’s new listings totals are down 41 from last week and come in at six fewer than were listed during the same period of 2011.

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Total active MLS listings slipped lower again but not by much. By week’s end there was a grand total of 1227 residential listings showing a “for sale” status on the Saskatoon MLS® system, a dip of just seven from last week, but well down from the 1410 properties that were available for sale on the same day last year. Today’s buyers have 758 single-family homes and 403 condominiums to choose from. Those two Saskatoon housing categories compare at 820 and 518 respectively when measured against available inventory a year ago.

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Slightly more activity at the lower end of the real estate market brought the weekly median price down by about eight thousand dollars to $330,000 while one sale at nearly $1.4 million dollars kept the average sale price of a Saskatoon home higher than usual at almost $350K. The six-week average price held pretty firm slipping just nine hundred dollars from last week to $344,087 to claim a massive annual gain of almost forty thousand dollars. The four-week median price edged up about forty-five hundred dollars from last week to reach $327,000 while it took an annual bounce of more than 25K.

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Overbid sales once again reached their low point for the year with just two aggressive buyers bidding more than the asking price. Those two sales both came in $1100 above the seller’s asking price. Meanwhile, another seven buyers stepped up and gave the seller all that they were asking while 72 of this week’s 81 sales closed with a negotiation that averaged the buyers a discount of $9,907.

Other notable MLS® activity this week includes 30 canceled and withdrawn listings,  just nine expired listings and 39 price adjustments.

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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 houses and condos inched ahead of the previous week as Saskatoon real estate agents reported 88 firm sales to the multiple listing service® for a weekly gain of seven to finish higher than the same week last year by 27 home sales.

New listings of Saskatoon homes dropped, but only slightly, losing three from the previous week’s numbers as a total of 143 houses and condos were added to the MLS® system this week, still well ahead of the 111 properties listed during the same period of 2011.

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After showing gains over three consecutive weeks, an unusual occurrence at this time of the year, the total inventory of residential listings available on the Saskatoon multiple listing service® dipped lower, thanks in part to normal month-end expired listings. Total inventory slipped by 15 units compared to the close of the previous week to settle at 1234. Last year at this time, 1395 Saskatoon homes were for sale on the MLS®. As of this morning, there are 759 single-family homes and 406 condominiums bearing the active status. Compare that to 821 and 495 one year ago.

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With a lot more activity at the upper end of the market including ten sales that came in above the half-million-dollar mark, the average sale price of a Saskatoon home jumped more than twenty thousand dollars from last week to $351,557. The weekly median price followed along growing by 18K from a week ago to $338,200. Meanwhile, the six-week average price of a Saskatoon home stayed stable on a weekly basis at $334,916 to finish well ahead of last year’s number of $307,380. The four-week median-priced pushed higher gaining a little more than five thousand dollars on the week to close at $322,500 and claimed an annual gain of just more than 19K.

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At the negotiation table, just five buyers stepped up to pay the seller’s full asking price. That’s approaching its lowest point since late winter. Another four buyers paid a little more than asking price to firm up a home purchase, on average offering an additional $1,850. In other wheeling and dealing, 79 of this week’s 88 closed transactions were finished below the seller’s asking price by an average discount of $8,107.

Other notable MLS® activity this week includes 36 canceled and withdrawn listings and 47 listings that left the system after failing to sell for the duration of the listing period. Another 38 Saskatoon home sellers adjusted their asking price in hopes of attracting a buyer before the fall.

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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 MLS® residential real estate statistics for July of 2012 today. Unfortunately, the official stats were not accompanied by a media release as they usually are. I’ll post it when it arrives. Meantime, here are the numbers.

Unit sales of Saskatoon homes in July of 2012 kept pace with June’s impressive numbers and increased eight percent fromlast July to 436 to finish the month above the five-year average for July of 396 homes.

The number of new MLS® listings introduced to the Saskatoon real estate market was also up in July to 697 properties, a gain of 16 percent over the same month a year ago. The total number of active MLS® listings at the close of the month slipped just slightly from 1254 at the end of June to 1240 as July came to a close for a year-over-year decline of 12 percent.

An active sales market and decreased level of total inventory pushed the average sale price of a Saskatoon home higher to $329,537 for an annual gain of eight percent.

In the areas surrounding Saskatoon, buyers scooped up an additional 109 homes, up from 95 sold during the same month last year. Average prices in these areas saw a smaller increase of six percent from July of 2011.

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 me. 

Norm Fisher

Royal LePage Vidorra