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Saskatoon real estate week in review: December 21-27, 2014

Saskatoon real estate agents had some time to enjoy the holidays this week as the local housing market was less than demanding. Home sales fell to their lowest level when compared against any other week this year as just 28 properties traded hands, down from a strong 67 the week before and just below numbers generated during Christmas week last year when 30 sales were reported.


The number of new listings added to the multiple listing service® plummeted, also reaching an annual low. The week saw just 32 listings hit the system, down from 80 the week before, and at levels roughly half of new listings for the same week last year. This week’s listings stand well apart from all others this year. The previous low week saw 70 units houses and condos added to the MLS® system. On the heels of a four-week free fall, the MLS® inventory of active listings declined just modestly this week, slipping by 15 properties to 1284, leaving us up on a year-over-year basis by about 159 homes. This next week will, of course, be a huge one for expired listings with 132 properties set to come off of the system, if not renewed or extended in the next three days. Still, we appear ready to start the year with total active listings in the mid 1,100 range, for an annual increase of roughly 10-12 percent, I’d guess. A closer look by housing type shows 759 Saskatoon houses being available to buyers today, up from 681 a year ago.


There are currently 382 condominiums for sale in Saskatoon, up from 344 at this time last year. Following one of the largest drops to the weekly average price that we’ve seen all year, that measure dropped even further this week, slipping to $317,461. Meanwhile, the median sale price of a Saskatoon home recovered from just $279,000 last week and reached $308,050. It seems that luxury home buyers have better things to do than to buy homes the week before Christmas. This week’s mix of sales had just one showing a price of greater than $500,000 affecting the weekly number significantly. A quick look at the price chart will confirm that this is typical of the season and likely to be repeated next week.  Still, even the longer term price measures were not left unaffected. The six-week average price of a Saskatoon home fell a bit more than eight thousand dollars from last week to settle at $349,889 for an annual increase of about 13K. The four-week median price slipped eight thousand as well to close the week at $331,000 for an annual increase of just one thousand dollars. In spite of soft sales, two Saskatoon home sellers managed to find a buyer who was willing to pay more than their asking price, but the overbids were fairly conservative averaging just $2,733. Another seven buyers showed some Christmas spirit and made a full price offer while 19 of 28 weekly sales closed at less than the asking price with an average discount of $10,384. Other notable real estate activity this past week included six canceled and withdrawn listings (four and two respectively), 34 expired listings and just six price changes.


As we close this year, I’d like to say thanks again for reading and following our blog.


We’ll remain committed to our market updates through 2015 and we hope that we can count on you to continue to visit for updates. Happy New Year! 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

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Saskatoon real estate week in review: December 14-20, 2014

Saskatoon real estate agents kept unusually busy this week, given that Christmas is almost upon us. A total of 67 residential sales were reported to the multiple listing service® this week, up 26 from last week, and up 23 on an annual basis.


The number of new listings added to the MLS® kept a strong pace as well, with 80 Saskatoon homes being added to the database, up just three from last week and ahead of numbers posted during the same week last year by 18.



The MLS® inventory of active listings continued to fall as pre-Christmas expired listings fell out of the system. By week’s end, the total number of Saskatoon homes available to buyers had slipped to 1298, down from last week by 53 properties, but still ahead of levels recorded a year ago when just 1158 active residential listings could be found. With another 147 listings set to expire between now and the end of the year, it’s looking like annual gains in active listings will be considerably smaller by year end than they have been for months.


Today, single-family homes inventory sits at 764, up from 707 during the same week last year. Condo listings are at 393, up from 351 a year ago.


This week’s sales were largely driven by entry level product.  Consequently, the average sale price of a Saskatoon home fell sharply to just $332,943 to hit its lowest point since April, in spite of the fact that a $1.2 million sale was included in the mis this week. The median fell even more to just $279,000. The six-week average price edged lower by three thousand dollars from last week to $358,178 to claim an annual gain of about 16K. Meanwhile, the four-week median slipped to its lowest point in nine weeks, $339,000. That’s a $10,000 drop for last week, just thirteen thousand dollars ahead of where it was a year ago.


Late December almost always presents the most favourable conditions for buyers, as the market quietens considerably and sellers get a bit antsy. Buyers had their way this week at the negotiating table as sellers showed some motivation to wrap up a deal for Christmas. 56 of 67 sales closed below the seller’s asking price with an average discount of $12,637. Another ten buyers paid the full asking price for the home they bought. Just one seller bagged a deal above their asking price scoring a $6,000 bonus.


Other notable real estate activity this past week included 28 cancelled and withdrawn listings (23 and five respectively), 43 expired listings and 21 price changes.


A map displaying the boundaries of Saskatoon real estate areas is here.


An overview of data collection and calculation practices for our statistical reports is here.


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

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The Saskatoon real estate market changed forever in 2007.


The price of a home rose 45 percent over the course of a year, and in spite of consistently low levels of MLS® inventory, annual residential real estate sales hit a new high with 4,448 Saskatoon homes changing hands, a number that we wouldn't see again, until this year. Just before noon today, the Saskatoon MLS® system recorded its 4,449th sale for 2014 to usher in a new record.


Here's a little history of residential sale numbers over the past ten years.


Annual Saskatoon MLS home sales from 2006-2014


Of course, I knew that listing numbers were also higher than normal this year, but until I constructed this chart I hadn't realized just how high this year's number is.


Annual Saskatoon MLS listings from 2006-2014


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

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TeamFisher was awarded the National Chairman's Club Award for 2014 on Monday. The award goes to the top one percent of the Royal LePage's national sales force which consists of over 16,000 agents, so we are all just thrilled to have made our first appearance on this list in 2014. My thanks to Lyndon, Jillian, Pamela, and Brett, the top-notch team of real estate pros who I get to spend my days with, and to almost 140 families who trusted us to help them buy, sell, or connect with a great agent somewhere else.
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Saskatoon real estate week in review: December 7-13, 2014

Saskatoon housing sales took a fairly typical seasonal path this week, right into the trough, as real estate agents reported just 41 house and condo sales to the multiple listing service®, down 22 units from last week’s close to finish even with sales reported during the same week last year. For those who are following the annual tally, we finish the week with 4417 residential sales, quickly closing in on the 2007 record of 4448. With two weeks of sales left to be counted in the year we should have a new record for annual sales in the making. The number of new listings added to the Saskatoon MLS® systemcontinued to slip lower, also quite normal for this time of year. Agents brought just 77 new listings to the system this week, down from 108 last week, and behind numbers generated over the same week last year by 18.


The number of active Saskatoon residential real estate listings on the MLS® system continued to fall sharply as the total slipped to 1350 this morning, down 60 units from last week’s close, and still well up from levels seen a year ago when they were at 1208. Still, we’ve lost nearly 200 units over the past three weeks which appears to be the sharpest, most sustained decline we’ve seen in a few years time. A good number of those listings that are gone result from expiries, where a home is removed from the system because it failed to sell during the term that was agreed up between seller and agent. Another 216 properties are scheduled to expire by the end of December so it’s looking like we may start 2015 with active listings below 1200, the smallest year-over-year increases in over a year. I expect that many of our recent expired listings will resurface in the new year for another go at the market.


Taking a closer look by housing category, today’s totals show 799 single-family homes being available to buyers, up just 59 from a year ago. Active condominium units total 406 up from 351 at this time last year.


A falling number on entry level real estate sales ushered the weekly median and the weekly average higher as they registered $366,700 and $385,786 respectively. That’s the second highest weekly average recorded this year, but goofy things can happen with the weekly numbers when units sales hit these lower levels. Looking at the longer term measures, we see the six-week average price staying pretty firm at $361,293. That represents a change of just a hundred dollars over last week, but high enough to claim an annual gain of about fifteen thousand dollars. The four-week median price continued to proceed in a straight line on the chart as it measured $349,900. That’s the same number recorded at the close of the previous week, ahead of levels seen a year ago when it was just under $320,000.


Like last week, just one lucky seller found a buyer willing to pay more than their asking price, but the overbid topped 10K, a nice early Christmas present. Meanwhile, 36 buyers ground themselves a better deal and closed on their purchase averaging a discount of $12,570. That’s the largest number we’ve seen in awhile. It’s fairly typical to see sellers give a bit more in December in hopes of wrapping up a deal before Christmas. Another four sellers closed with a full price offer.


Other notable real estate activity this past week included 43 cancelled and withdrawn listings (37 and 6 respectively), 53 expired listings and 37 price changes.

Highlights from the news this week

Saskatchewan incomes in second place nationally - Star Phoenix

Saskatoon employers still upbeat on hiring - Star Phoenix

Drones helping sell Canadian homes and property - CBC News

2015 Housing Market Outlook Report - Remax

Slower price growth expected in Canada’s real estate hotspots - Globe and Mail

Housing market overvalued as much as 30 percent: Bank of Canada - Globe and Mail

Stephen Poloz says up to 30 percent overvaluation risk to economy - CBC News

Bank of Canada provides ‘forward confusion’ on state of housing market - Financial Post

CMHC to hike user fees and mortgage rates could follow - Financial Post


A map displaying the boundaries of Saskatoon real estate areas is here.


An overview of data collection and calculation practices for our statistical reports is here.


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

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The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), released national sales statistics for the month of November, 2014 recently. According to the CREA, “The number of home sales processed through the MLS® Systems of Canadian real estate Boards and Associations was unchanged in November 2014 compared to October. As a result, activity remains much improved compared to the quiet start to the year.” Highlights of CREA's report    
  • National home sales were unchanged from October to November.
  • Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity stood 2.7% above November 2013 levels.
  • The number of newly listed homes edged down 0.4% from October to November.
  • The Canadian housing market remains balanced.
  • The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) rose 5.2% year-over-year in November.
  • The national average sale price rose 5.7% on a year-over-year basis in November.
Read the entire report on Canadian MLS® sales for November, 2014.


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

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Saskatoon real estate week in review: November 30 - December 6, 2014

Saskatoon real estate sales took a typical December dip falling by twenty units on a weekly basis to just 63, still enough to claim an annual increase of almost as much (19). I’ve been watching the numbers with a greater level of interest on the total sales for the year, which now sit at 4376, well ahead of last year’s total sales of 4215, and quickly closing on our previous record year for unit sales in 2007 when a total of 4448 Saskatoon homes traded hands. I’m now prepared to call this one in favour of 2014, a year in which Saskatoon will see its highest number of homes sold through the MLS®.


New listings continued at more of a sluggish pace, also typical for December. Listing a house is likely the last thing on one’s mind. Only the most serious of sellers are going to start that effort in December. Saskatoon real estate agents brought 108 new listings in, up four from last week, precisely even with the numbers generated during the same week last year.


The inventory of active listings available for purchase on the Saskatoon MLS® system took another sharp decline, this one being the largest drop that we’ve seen for any week in more than a year, as month end expired listings came out of the system. Totals slipped lower by 87 homes compared to the close of the previous week to finish with 1410 active listings, up about 225 from the same time last year. Single-family homes are at 816 today, up from 737 at this time last year. Condo inventory remains quite high at 443, about one hundred units more than could be found on the system at this time in 2013.


A bit more action at the upper end of the Saskatoon real estate market saw the median sale price of a home gain some ground as it edged up about five thousand dollars to $339,500. The average price paid for a Saskatoon home picked up just slightly more to finish the week at $353,394. The longer term measures both headed in the other direction as the six-week average price fell by more than nine grand to $361,166 for a year-over-year increase of about 14K. The four-week median lost just one hundred dollars to $349,900 closing thirty thousand ahead of where it was at the close of this week last year.


Just one lucky seller closed on an offer that was for more than their asking price and the bonus was small at just $200. On the opposite side of the negotiating table, 55 buyers made off with an average discount of $9,751. Seven others paid full price to close their deal.


Other notable real estate activity this past week included 70 cancelled and withdrawn listings (62 and eight respectively), 61 expired listings and 30 price changes.

Highlights from the news this week

Ten ways to increase your home’s value - Globe and Mail

Saskatoon housing sales top $2 billion - CBC News


A map displaying the boundaries of Saskatoon real estate areas is here.


An overview of data collection and calculation practices for our statistical reports is here.


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

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The Saskatoon Region Association of Realtors® (SRAR) released the MLS® residential real estate statistics for November of 2014 today accompanied by the following release.

Please note that many of the association’s comments touch on “year-to-date” numbers, and some may be based on all sales within the association’s full trading area. The charts which you see, as always, reflect activity within the city of Saskatoon on a month-to-month basis over the past several years.


For the first time in Saskatoon and area, MLS® sales have topped the $2 billion mark. "We had an expectation that we would reach this milestone by year’s end but it was a pleasant surprise to see it at the end of November," comments Jason Yochim, CEO with the Saskatoon Region Association of REALTORS®.


The number of transactions recorded for Saskatoon and area is also at an all-time high of 5859 units. "This is a huge economic driver to the area as the average transaction generates in excess of $50,000 of spin off business, according to research conducted by the Canadian Real Estate Association," adds Yochim. The dollar volume for Saskatoon corporate was in excess of $1.5 billion which is 11 percent higher than last year.


Within Saskatoon itself, the number of homes listed so far in 2015 stands at 8682, up 16 percent from last year, while the number of sales year-to-date was 4295,  an increase of seven percent. Inventory also remains high with 1510 units available, a 5.15 month supply of inventory. "Sellers need to consider the impact that higher inventory, additional competition and a traditionally slower time of year will have on their sale," warns Yochim. "Sellers who need to sell may have to consider adjusting their price to attract a buyer." Compared to last year at this time, there were just 1239 active listings, a 4.24 months of inventory. In November alone, there were 601 properties listed for sale in Saskatoon, a 27 percent increase compared with November of 2013.


Click the images for a larger version of the chart.




The average sale price of $357,000 continues its gradual climb at a four price increase for the year. Year-to-date, the number of homes that had sold between $350,000 and $500,000 was up 18 percent with 1541 unit sales. Sales between $500,000 and $750,000 increased by 32 percent with 443 unit sales and homes priced between $750,000 and one million dollars were up 38 percent with 61 unit sales. Home that sold for more than one million dollars in Saskatoon were virtually unchanged from 2013 at 11 properties. In contrast, there were only three sales that exceeded one million dollars in the market area surrounding Saskatoon, a 50 percent reduction year-to-date compared with 2013.


Click the images for a larger version of the chart.



The average number of days that it took to sell a home in Saskatoon at the end of November was 40, while the sales to listing ratio was 49 percent. This means that approximately half of the homes placed for sale on the market do not result in a successful sale. "Although this is considered a balanced market, it appears that the buyers are starting to gain a bit more of an advantage, all things considered."


I’m always happy to answer your Saskatoon real estate questions. All of my contact info is here. Please feel free to call of email me.


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


Norm Fisher Royal LePage Vidorra

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The Saskatchewan REALTORS® Association (SRA) IDX Reciprocity listings are displayed in accordance with SRA's MLS® Data Access Agreement and are copyright of the Saskatchewan REALTORS® Association (SRA).
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