The number of new MLS® listings added to the system declined by ten units compared to the previous week for a total of 154 properties, still well above seasonal norms. During the same period of time in 2012, 117 properties were added to the MLS® system.

In spite of the sales to listing ratio, the number of active residential listings on the Saskatoon multiple listing service® managed to fall. The last couple of days of any month generally see a higher than normal number of listings come to the end of their term. The dozen or so that expired last night at midnight helped bring the numbers lower to settle at 1356. That final total is 24 fewer than we had at the close of the previous week but 156 more than were available at the close of the same week last year. It’s also worth mentioning that it’s the highest level of inventory for this particular week since 2008 when the total number of Saskatoon real estate listings in the residential category sat at 1676. Today’s totals include 835 single-family homes and 415 condominiums. Going back to the final week of August last year, those two categories stood at 737 and 392 respectively. That’s a 14 percent increase in available houses and a more modest seven percent growth in condo numbers.

A strong week for entry level sales, not to mention a fairly soft performance for homes priced above $500K, prompted both the median sale price and the average sale price lower. The median edged down nearly fourteen thousand dollars from last week while the average shed a little less than ten thousand to finish the week at $335,610. Meanwhile, the six-week average selling price of a Saskatoon home fell $5,432 from last week to $339,377 and reached it’s lowest point since late March to make a rare appearance below last year’s number for this particular week, $345,708. The four-week median price managed a gain of a bit more than four thousand dollars to close the week at $339,150 and claim a year-over-year increase of $12,650.

The number of homes that traded above the seller’s asking price slipped to just two, but large overbids were the order of the day in this category netting the seller an average bonus of $11,350. Another 14 deals closed at the full asking price while 73 of this week’s committed buyers ground themselves a bit of a deal netting an average discount of $9,192 through their negotiation.

Other MLS® activity this week included 76 cancelled and withdrawn listings, 22 expired listing and 65 price adjustments.

Highlights from the news this week

Urban renewal - Passion or profit? - Financial Post
Canadian savings rate rising but record debt with remain a long time: TD - Financial Post
Housing affordability erodes in Q2 - Star Phoenix
Canadian home ownership inches further out of reach - Globe and Mail
Canadian homes are getting less affordable but we keep buying - Financial Post
Housing market not the most affordable - Star Phoenix
Housing affordability deteriorates nationally and at home: RBC - TeamFisher.com
The changing faces of Caswell Hill - Star Phoenix
Rising mortgages: The phantom menace of Canadian consumer debt - Globe and Mail
Canada’s economy shrinks in June, second quarter growth slows - Globe and Mail

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 Saskatoon Real Estate

If you only had the new listings data to look at you might think it was spring as Saskatoon real estate agents brought 164 houses and condos to the MLS® market, down just five from last week’s heavy load and way above the 106 Saskatoon homes that were placed on the market over the same period of time in 2012.

MLS® inventory continued to climb this week as the total number of active listings in the residential category reached 1,380 for a weekly gain of 18 homes and a year-over-year increase of 158 listings. For those of you interesting in percentages, that’s a 14 percent increase on last year’s numbers. It’s just seven units short of a five-year record level of inventory for this time of year. In 2010, total residential listings reached 1387 this particular week, so we’ve been here before. Today’s numbers, by category of housing show 848 single-family homes and 422 condominiums available to Saskatoon home buyers. At this time last year, active listings for those two housing types stood at 747 and 400, respectively.

Just slightly more activity at the upper end of the Saskatoon real estate market brought the median sale price of a local home higher by about thirty-five hundred dollars to $333,450. In spite of one residential sale that topped the million dollar mark, the average sale price of a Saskatoon home slid lower by almost seven thousand dollars to $345,141. Meanwhile, the six-week average price fell almost two thousand dollars from last week to $344,809 and finished up on the same week last year by just seven thousand dollars. The four-week median price inched higher picking up two thousand dollars over the course of the week to reach $335,000 and claim a year-over-year increase of close to 10K.

Overbid sales slipped to just three this week. Those sellers made off with an extra $10,067 on average. At the same time, 73 of this week’s 86 sales reported a sale price that was lower than the asking price by an average of $9,895. The other ten reported deals closed at the seller’s asking price.

Other MLS® activity this week included 60 cancelled and withdrawn listings, 10 expired listing and 55 price adjustments.

Highlights from the news this week

Developer lauds plans for River Landing project - Star Phoenix
No more tightening needed after measures averted housing bubble: Flaherty - Financial Post
Prime retail space scarce in Saskatoon - Star Phoenix//

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 Saskatoon Real Estate

New listings also increased sharply as a total of 169 houses and condos were added to the MLS® system over the course of the week, up 38 units from the previous week and closing well up on the same week a year ago by twenty-five homes.

Total active residential listings on the Saskatoon multiple listing service® took a big leap higher this past week, a pretty unusual happening at this time of the year. The database of active listings grew by 51 homes over the past seven days to 1365 and finished up on levels recorded a year ago by 124 properties. We currently have a higher number of MLS® listings than we’ve seen at any point in the past two years. A search of today’s active listings delivers 830 single-family homes for buyers to choose from, up from 767 one year ago. Meanwhile, condo listings have increased 30 units from a year ago to 436.

The average sale price of a Saskatoon home edged higher again this week and reached $352,082 while the median price (the point at which half of all sales were above and hald were below) edged lower to $340,000. The six-week average price edge higher for the first time in three weeks gaining about thirty-seven hundred dollars over last week to hit $346,212 for a year-over-year increase of roughly eight thousand dollars. The four-week median price finished five thousand dollars higher than it was last week at $333,000 to see an annual increase of just seven thousand dollars.

The number of overbid sales doubled compared to last week, which sounds impressive until you realize that the total number was just four. Those buyers placed offers that exceeded the seller’s asking price by an average of $6,800. The number of seller’s who found a buyer willing to pay their full asking price was pretty high at 27. The remaining 67 deals that closed this past week concluded at the negotiating table with the buyer netting an average discount of $8,786.

Other MLS® activity this week included 54 cancelled and withdrawn listings, 19 expired listing and 62 price adjustments.

Highlights from the news this week

Canada’s housing market still running hot - Globe and Mail
Is Canada’s housing market starting to overheat again? - Globe and Mail
Canadian banks could weather a housing crash - Financial Post
Interest rates spike to two-year high - Globe and Mail

Canada’s housing market: The one that no one can predict - Financial Post
Canada’s Goldilocks housing market: ‘Balanced and well-behaved’ - Globe and Mail
Strong home sales in Vancouver and Toronto suggest market is stabilizing- Financial Post
Flaherty cooled the housing market without dousing it - Globe and Mail
Canadian home sales gaining momentum - Globe and Mail
Saskatoon house sales rebound in July - Star Phoenix

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 Saskatoon Real Estate

New listings also fell sharply with just 131 houses and condos being added to the Saskatoon MLS® system over the course of the week, the smallest number added since the last week of March. That number brings a weekly decline of 56 homes but is still well ahead of the 102 homes that were added to the multiple listing service® over the same period last year.

The total number of residential properties listed for sale on the Saskatoon multiple listing service® remained pretty steady at 1311, down just four homes from the previous week and up about 85 units compared to totals recorded at the close of the same week last year. Today, there are 803 single-family homes and 432 condominiums showing as “active” on the MLS®. This is the first week since mid February to show a year-over-year increase to the number of houses listed for sale in Saskatoon. Last year at this time there were just 758 houses available to Saskatoon home buyers. Condo inventory, on the other hand, has been showing year-over-year gains since the first week of June. This week, the total number of Saskatoon condos for sale on the MLS® system is up from 403 a year ago.

You may recall that the average sale price of a Saskatoon home plummeted last week due to an unusually high level of sales activity at the entry level of our market. That corrected itself this week and the average price jumped back up to more normal levels at $342,172. The median price paid for a local home followed suit regaining losses seen last week as it increased to $344,900. A strong weekly showing for prices did little for the longer term measures. The six-week average sale price of a Saskatoon home continued to trend lower slipping nearly five thousand dollars from last week’s finish to reach its lowest point on the price chart since the first week of April, actually closing the week down on an annual basis by about fifteen hundred dollars. The four-week median price squeaked out a small weekly gain picking up four thousand dollars to reach $328,000 to claim an increase of just one thousand dollars when compared against the same week last year.

Overbid sales almost disappeared from this week’s stats as just two home buyers offered to pay more than the list price of their chosen home. Those overbids were pretty soft as well showing an average win for the seller of an extra $550. Another eight buyers offered to pay full price, again, a weaker percentage of sales compared to what we are used to seeing. This week, 59 of 69 sales reported to the Saskatoon MLS system showed a sale price below the seller’s list price by and average of $8,075.

Other MLS® activity this week included 37 cancelled and withdrawn listings, 14 expired listing and 51 price adjustments.

Highlights from the news this week

Does Canada have too many home buyers - Financial Post
CMHC might not like this housing recovery: BMO chief economist - Financial Post
CMHC moves to take steam out of housing market - Financial Post
How home buyers will be affected by CMHC’s new cooling measures - Globe and Mail
Don’t try to time the real estate market - Financial Post
Canada’s drop in building permits nothing to worry about - Globe and Mail
Mortgage rates to rise slightly - Canadian press via Star Phoenix
Why one analyst thinks housing is having a ‘Wile E. Coyote’ moment - Globe and Mail
Builders bet housing boom is over as residential land investment falls - Financial Post
Top six real estate scams and how to avoid them - Globe and Mail
Nine steps to hep you win a real estate bidding war- Financial Post

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 Saskatoon Real Estate

New listings spiked to reach levels not seen since the first week of June as 187 Saskatoon home sellers listed their house or condominium for sale, an increase of 43 listings compared to the previous week, and ahead of the same week in 2012 by 44. Some of those “new listings” could be accounted for as re-listings. Agents continue to use the cancel/re-list trick to bounce a stale listing back to the forefront. The end of July also produced 44 expired listings, some of which were re-listed the same week.

The total inventory of residential properties listed for sale on the Saskatoon multiple listing service® took an upward turn and increased by six this week to 1315 to record a year-over-year increase of 81 homes., about a seven percent annual increase. Today, there are 765 single-family homes (houses) showing an active status on the MLS®, pretty much even with the 759 that were available at the close of the same week last year. Condo options sit at 440 today, up from 406 a year ago. The balance of the increased inventory is in categories that include semi-detached homes, duplexes and vacant lots.

A huge amount of activity in the entry level price ranges, combined with a bit of a slowdown in upper end sales caused the average sale price of a Saskatoon home to plummet towards record lows for the year as it lost nearly 30K from the previous week to settle at $316,414. Of course, the median price for the week also edged lower slipping 13.5 thousand dollars to $316,500.  The six-week average price took its biggest downward turn in a couple of months as it fell close to seventy five hundred dollars to $347,180 to hold onto a pretty narrow year-over-year increase of about twelve thousand dollars. The four-week median dropped about two thousand dollars this week to settle at $324,000 for an annual increase of just fifteen hundred dollars.

In spite of increased options in the listings arena overbid sales more than doubled compared to the previous week as nine lucky sellers closed  a deal above their asking price by an average of $6,650, one of our largest average overbids for some time. Another 11 buyers offered to close at the full asking price while 78 stood firm for a discount averaging $7,727.

Other MLS® activity this week included 39 cancelled and withdrawn listings, 44 expired listing and 52 price adjustments.

Highlights from the news this week

East-side sales lead the Saskatoon real estate market in July, 2013: SRAR - TeamFisher.com

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 Saskatoon Real Estate