New listingsalso slipped lower as Saskatoon real estate agents added just 111 houses and condos to the multiple listing service® database to bring us the slowest week for new listings since the first week in January.  This week’s listing numbers are down by 18 homes on a weekly basis and lower than they were for the same period in 2013 by just one property.

A reasonably strong sales week combined with a drop in new listings brought the total inventory of Saskatoon homes for sale on the multiple listing service® lower. By the close of the week the total number of residential listings sat at 1203, down just nine from last week and still well ahead of levels recorded at the same time list year when home buyers had 1027 properties to choose from. This coming week may bring a bit more relief to inventory numbers. At present, 66 properties are set to expire from the system over the next week. Today, buyers can find 697 single-family homes for sale, up from 609 a year ago. Condominium numbers sit at 391 up from 326 last year.

Sales at the upper end of the Saskatoon real estate market performed strongly again. The median sale price of a home grew by more than twenty thousand dollars to $360,000 while the average jumped a more modest eleven thousand dollars to $369,209. The average price of a Saskatoon home over the last six weeks continued on an upward trend. That number has increased for six of seven weeks this year pushing to $354,319 for a weekly increase of about thirty-five hundred dollars and an annual bump of nearly 24K. Meanwhile, the four-week average price, after sitting rather flat for the first two months of the year, moved higher. It gained almost thirteen thousand dollars over last week to finish up from levels recorded at this time last year by about sixteen thousand dollars.

Two lucky sellers completed a deal with a buyer willing to pay more than list but both overbids were modest at just $100 each. Fifty of the Saskatoon real estate sales recorded this week were completed below the list price to net the buyer an average discount of $8,436. The remaining 15 sales were reported to have sold at the full listed price.

Other notable MLS® activity this week included 33 cancelled and withdrawn listings, 9 expired listings and 38 price adjustments.

Get the most current market intelligence with our FREE Market Snapshot including prices of homes recently sold in your area. Get it here, now.

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 Saskatoon Real Estate

Meanwhile, the number of new listings fell lower this week. Saskatoon real estate agents added 129 properties to the MLS® system this week, three dozen fewer than we saw just last week, but well up from the same week a year ago when just 91 properties were added. As with sales, new listings are up annually for the third week in a row.

Inventory continued to push higher this week breaking the 1200 mark for the first time this year. At the close of business, 1218 active MLS® listings could be found in the residential category, an increase of 25 from the previous week’s close, up more than 200 units (20 percent) from levels recorded at this time last year. Today, buyer’s will find 710 single-family homes showing an active status, up from 590 a year ago. Additionally, there are 381 condominiums for sale on the MLS® system, up from 322 last year, also an increase of close to 20 percent.

Higher end home sellers saw some decent action this week with the four highest priced residential sales generating about $3.5 million dollars in volume. The median sale price of a Saskatoon home jumped more than ten percent from last week reaching $337,450 while the average priced spiked higher to $357,850. The six-week average price bounced out of the loss it saw last week coming back up to $350,820 for an annual increase of roughly thirteen thousand dollars. Meanwhile, the four-week median held firm with very little change on the week. It finished the at $324,625 for a year-over-year loss of close to three thousand dollars.

While 13 Saskatoon home sellers managed to find a buyer willing to pay their full asking price buyers were reluctant to overbid this week. Just one seller closed a deal above their asking price with a $1,600 overbid. The remaining 64 house and condo sales concluded with a contract to sell below the asking price by $14,453 on average. This number is 40-50 percent higher than it has been most weeks thanks to an area two luxury listing that sold $175,000 below asking price.

Other notable MLS® activity this week included 44 cancelled and withdrawn listings, 11 expired listings and 32 price adjustments.

Highlights from the news this week

How Canada’s new immigration rules could slow high-end real estate sales - Financial Post
Is the real estate market cooling down? First wait for the heat - GlobeAdvisor
Consumer debt hits record but Canadians getting better at paying it back- Financial Post

Get the most current market intelligence with our FREE Market Snapshot including prices of homes recently sold in your area. Get it here, now.

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 Saskatoon Real Estate

New listings, on the other hand, took off like a raging bull with 165 houses and condos being added to the Saskatoon multiple listing service® database over the course of the week, up 32 from last week to finish well up on new listings for the same week last year when just 118 properties were added to the system.

As usual, a good number of the “new listings” recorded on the MLS® system were actually doing the old cancel/re-list trick. There were also more than two dozen listings that came to the end of their term without a sale. Some of those were certainly re-listed. Those two factors kept the total number of active listings on the Saskatoon MLS® lower than you might have exacted they’d be with that kind of a sales to listings disparity. Still, after a short pause last week, active listings (all residential types) surged higher to reach 1187 for a weekly increase of 46 and a year-over-year gain of 178, leaving us with more inventory than we’ve seen before mid-March over the past five years. Today, single-family home options sit at 701, up from 590 at this time last year. Condo inventory is currently at 369, up from 329 a year ago.

The median sale price (the price point at which half of all sales are above and half are below) of a Saskatoon home slipped lower this week to $300,000. With sales above $500,000 accounting for just a small handful of the units sold this week, the average sale price of a local home took a solid plunge slipping to $326,996. On the heels of four consecutive weeks of gains to the six-week average sale price, we finally saw its first decline this year as it slipped to $336,835 for a weekly decline of a bit more than five grand and an annual drop of eighty-five hundred dollars. The four-week median price slipped four thousand from last week to reach $324,450 and finished the week roughly where it was a year ago.

Sellers hoping to land an above list price offer were largely disappointed as just one buyer showed any willingness to overbid. That deal netted the seller an additional $5100. Another seven buyers said yes to a full price offer. Meanwhile, 56 of this week’s 64 firm deals closed lower than the seller’s asking price with an average discount of $8,761 being reported.

Other notable MLS® activity this week included 42 cancelled and withdrawn listings, 28 expired listings and 24 price adjustments.

Highlights from the news this week

Saskatoon’s east-west gap closing - Star Phoenix
CMHC sees home prices rising this year - Globe and Mail
Why Canadians don’t see low inflation in their bills - Globe and Mail
Sub 3% mortgages are in sight again - Financial Post
Home prices 10% overvalued: TD - Canadian Press via Star Phoenix

Get the most current market intelligence with our FREE Market Snapshot including prices of homes recently sold in your area. Get it here, now.

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 Saskatoon Real Estate

I’m away on a bit of a break this weekend so we’re giving you the shortened, commentary free version of this week’s Saskatoon real estate activity. Thanks very much for reading.

Get the most current market intelligence with our FREE Market Snapshot including prices of homes recently sold in your area. Get it here, now. 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