At a time of the year when sales declines are typically expected, Saskatoon real estate agents reported a growing number of houses and condos changing hands for the third consecutive week. This week, we hit the triple digit mark again as 100 condos and houses were reported sold to the Saskatoon multiple listing service®, up seven from the previous week to eclipse sales for the same period last year by 11 homes.

New listings continue to bounce up and down, as the number of listings added to the MLS® system slipped by 48 compared to last week and fell to just 153, about even with the number added during the same week of 2013.

After growing slowly but steadily for two months straight and managing to get above the 1600 mark over the past week, the total number of active listings on the Saskatoon MLS® took a dip to settle at 1583 today, down 15 from last week’s close, up 227 units from where we sat a year ago. Today’s totals by category show exactly 1,000 single family homes being available to buyers, up from 835 on this date last last year. Condo inventory is currently at 448 units, up from 415 a year ago. Nearly 60 listings are set to expire over the long weekend. Assuming that the majority of those don’t step forward for another run at the market we should see a larger decline in inventory numbers next week.

A slightly larger percentage of higher end home buyers pushed the median price of a Saskatoon home higher this week to $342,500. A single sale that broke $1.3 million bolstered the weekly average price too as it surged higher by more than 20K to reach $359,764. That was enough to push the six-week average price paid for a Saskatoon home up more than four thousand dollars compared to the previous week. It closed at $358,311 for an annual increase of nineteen thousand dollars. The four-week median inched lower dropping thirty-five hundred in a week to settle at $332,000 and reached its lowest point since February, actually down about five thousand dollars from the close of the same week last year.

The activity in the overbid arena looked much like last week as just three sellers bagged an offer above their asking price. The average overbid came in near the two thousand dollar mark. On the other side of the negotiating table, 85 buyers made off with a discount averaging $9,281. Another 12 Saskatoon home sales closed at the full asking price.

Other notable real estate activity this past week included 70 cancelled and withdrawn listings (50 and 20 respectively), nine expired listings and 68 price changes.

Highlights from the news this week

Canadian banks ‘feel good’ about prospects for mortgage business - Globe and Mail
Fears of overheating drive Canadian builders to look south - Financial Post
House prices keep rising but are more affordable due to cheaper debt- 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

Saskatoon real estate agents posted big numbers in both the sales and new listings categories this week. A total of 93 houses and condos saw a sold sign being posted, up seven from last weekfor a year-over-year increase of the same amount.

After showing signs of retreat for the past two weeks, the number of new MLS® listings added to the system over the past week shot higher to break the 200 mark. Totals in the condo/house categories hit 201 for a weekly gain of 40 homes, up on the same period last yearby 37 properties.

The total number of active listings on the Saskatoon MLS® system continued to creep higher as it has during seven of the past eight weeks, this time reaching a new high for the year at 1598. At a time of year when you can almost always count on inventory to fall, total active listings increased by 18 this week to finish higher than they were a year ago by 218. Once again, most of those gains can be credited to a greater availability of single-family detached homes (houses) which saw numbers increase to 1,009 available units, up from 848 a year ago. Condo inventory is also up from last year but only marginally. Those numbers total 446 today, up just 24 units from a year ago.

Fewer high end home sales brought the median price for the week lower by about 23K to $316,000. The average price of a Saskatoon home slipped even more dropping about twenty-two thousand dollars to $338,731. This in spite of the fact that Saskatoon’s highest priced home sale for 2014 ($1.4 million) was included in the mix. There were only six other properties that traded at a price greater than $500,000 this week. Meanwhile, the six-week average price of a Saskatoon home fell six thousand dollars from last week to settle at $354,247 for a year-over-year increase of about eight thousand. The four-week median slipped lower by about seventy-five hundred dollars this week to $335,500 to maintain a very thin annual gain of just five hundred dollars.

Three Saskatoon home sellers bagged themselves an overbid offer with an average bonus of $1,133 and eight others completed a full price sale. The other 82 completed transactions were reported to have sold at a number somewhere below the seller’s asking price by an average of $10,054.

Other notable real estate activity this past week included 75 cancelled and withdrawn listings (69 and six), 24 expired listings and 72 price changes.

Highlights from the news this week

Existing home sales in Canada rise for sixth straight month - Financial Post
Housing sales in July highest since 2010 - Globe and Mail
Real estate scams and how to avoid falling for one- CBC

RBC forecasts house prices will cool in 2015 if rates rise - Canadian Press via Montreal Gazette

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

The Saskatoon real estate market clipped along at a pace that’s fairly typical for this time of year. Local agents reported 86 firm house and condominium sales to the local multiple listing service®, the same number as were recorded last week, to end the week lower than last year’s volume by 12.

Interestingly, the number of new MLS® listings added to the system over the past week also matched the previous week’s at 161 but fell short of listings generated during the same week a year agoby eight.

Back in mid-June, I declared that the total inventory of active MLS® listings in the residential category had likely reached its peak for the year. The following weeks seemed to play along as we saw three consecutive declines in those numbers, the most downward action we’d seen all year. There have been some small ups and downs since then. One week we reached the peak a second time before inventory began to fall again. Those drops were short-lived, however. This week inventory reached a mew peak of 1580 active listings beating the previous high by seven homes. This week’s numbers mark a gain of 15 Saskatoon homes from last week to finish ahead of levels recorded a year ago when it sat at just 1362.

Taking a closer look by category we see 996 single-family homes and 453 condominiums bearing an active status today. Last year at this time those numbers sat at 830 and 436 respectively.

Slightly higher levels of activity in the upper end real estate market pushed the median price of a Saskatoon home higher this week to $339,450. The average price followed growing by roughly nine thousand dollars compared to last week to $360,523. Meanwhile, the six-week average price of a Saskatoon home inched up about twelve hundred bucks to $362,138 to claim year-over-year gains of roughly sixteen thousand dollars. The four-week median made larger weekly gains growing by thirty one hundred dollars to $343,000 to finish ahead of last year’s number by 10K.

This week just two lucky sellers closed an offer about their asking price. The average overbid was $15,050 thanks to a thirty thousand dollar overbid on one of those two deals. Another 13 sales closed at the full asking price while 71 of this week’s 86 home buyers ground a hard bargain for a discount averaging $10,349.

Other notable real estate activity this past week included 57 cancelled and withdrawn listings (48 and nine), 17 expired listings and 71 price changes.

Highlights from the news this week

Sask. housing starts to moderate: CMHC - Star Phoenix

Housing starts rise in July and top expectations - Globe and Mail
Winners and losers in Canada’s housing market - Globe and Mail
Seniors staying in their homes - the next trend in home renos - Financial Post
Rise in asset values pushes up Canadian’s wealth - Globe and Mail
Canadian home prices continue upward swing in July - Globe and Mail
Canada’s big banks posting stagnant growth in insured mortgages- Globe and Mail

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

Saskatoon real estate sales softened compared to last week but made some small gains on an annual basis for the second consecutive week. Local REALTORS® reported 86 firm house and condo sales to the multiple listing service®, down 28 sales from an exceptional performance last week to finish 17 ahead of reported sales for the same period a year ago.

The flow of new listings added to the MLS®slowed as well. Total new listings (houses and condominiums) came in at 161, 42 fewer than were listed last week, but again, well up over the same period last year when just 131 Saskatoon homes hit the market.

The total number of residential listings displaying an active status on the Saskatoon multiple listing service® continued to sit at near peak levels for 2014. Today there are 1565 properties for sale, up just three from last week for a year-over-year increase of 244 units. The inventory of single-family detached homes increased ten from last week to 971 for a year-over-year increase of 168. Condo inventory actually inched lower dropping nine from the inventory over the course of the week to close the week ahead of last year by just 26 homes.

In spite of a couple of sales that passed the $800,000 mark, a good showing of entry level buyers added nine sales below $200K to this week’s number causing both the median and the average price paid for a Saskatoon home to fall lower to $327,400 and $351,540 respectively. Still, the six-week average price managed to inch up gaining about $500 from last week to reach $360,910 and finish ahead of last year’s number by 18K. Meanwhile, the four-week median took a solid slide losing eleven thousand dollars compared against last week  to close about twelve thousand dollars ahead of the same week last year.

While the number of buyers willing to pay more than asking price remained low at just five, they paid a strong bonus to their seller that averaged $10,870. On the flip said, 70 Saskatoon real estate buyers made off with a discount averaging $11,050. The remaining 11 sales closed at the seller’s full asking price.

Other notable real estate activity this past week included 74 cancelled and withdrawn listings (51 and 23), four expired listings and 52 price changes.

Highlights from the news this week

Saskatoon housing inventory at six year high: Realtors - Star Phoenix
Should your home’s selling price be public information? - The Star
High home prices send 35-44 aged cohort to top spot for debt - Globe and Mail

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

After falling below levels recorded last year for three consecutive weeks, Saskatoon real estate sales bounced away from those lows to produce one of the higher volume weeks that we’ve seen this year. Local agents reported 114 house and condo sales to the local multiple listing service® for the first tally that topped 100 in over a month. This week’s numbers are up 21 over the previous week and trump sales for the same period last yearby 16.

New listings slipped lower but remained at lofty levels as they have through most of the year. A total of 203 houses and condominium listings were added to the MLS® system this week, down six from last week and up 16 from the same week a year ago. This week’s high “cancellation” number of 75 listings suggests that a good chunk of these “new listings” were actually price reductions (cancel/re-list and hope buyers actually think it’s a new listing).

Inventory, which has climbed for three consecutive weeks and recently returned to its peak level for the 2014 calendar year, retreated and moved lower. At the close of the week 1562 residential properties could be found showing an active status on the Saskatoon multiple listing service®, a decrease of just nine from last week, and enough to record annual growth of nearly 250 homes. Taking a closer look at the two major categories of Saskatoon housing we can see that availability of single-family homes has increased significantly over the past year, growing from just 765 last year at this time to 961 today. Condo inventory has increased but by far less. Available units sit at 465 today, up from 440 a year ago.

The mix of sales across various price ranges remained fairly steady compared to the previous week. The median price of a Saskatoon home slipped slightly to $353,250 while the average price saw a bit of an increase to $372,449. Meanwhile, the longer term measures moved in opposite directions. The six-week average price of a Saskatoon home slipped lower by about three thousand dollars when compared against the previous week to $360,389 for an annual gain of thirteen thousand dollars. The four-week median moved higher on a weekly basis by just a thousand bucks to reach $351,000 for a year-over-year increase of 26K.

The majority of this week’s sales (100) were reported to have sold at a price below the seller’s chosen list price by an average discount of $9,552. Five lucky sellers made off with a full price offer while nine others found a buyer willing to offer even more. The average overbid on those nine deals was just $560.

Other notable real estate activity this past week included 116 cancelled and withdrawn listings (75 & 41), five expired listings and 64 price changes.

Highlights from the news this week

Five year mortgage rates holding firm, but just wait- Globe and Mail

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