Saskatoon real estate sales continued to make marginal gains for the fifth week in a row, this week growing to 53 residential sales, up from 46 a week ago. For the first time in five weeks, sales failed to meet those recorded during the same period last year. In 2015, the final week of January saw 61 sales. The decline of seven this week appears to be just enough of a hit to close January down slightly from the same month a year ago. I see 175 firm deals for January 2016 versus 179 during that same month last year.

New listings for the week pushed higher once again climbing to 156, up 20 from last week, for a year-over-year increase of 16 homes,

Active Saskatoon real estate listings continued to edge higher, making very marginal gains. This week they grew from 1,611 to 1,624 to finish well above levels recorded during this week last year when 1,447 were showing an active status on the MLS® system. Available single-family homes sit at 884 units today, slightly higher than the 823 that could be found a year ago. Condo inventory continues to be the primary contributor to annual increases to the inventory. Today we have 585 units available, versus 482 at this time last year.

Just a slightly higher number of unit sales in the upper end range of the Saskatoon real estate market pushed the median sale price up this week to $354,900 even while the weekly average priced inched marginally lower to $353,547. The six-week average price took a pretty solid leap forward as it climbed to $353,598 from $346,182 last week. That was enough of an increase to claim an annual gain of roughly twenty-three hundred dollars. Finally, the four-week median price went to $338K, up from $331,500 at the close of the previous week for an annual increase of $1,750.

Overbid sales once again drew a blank as not a singe seller found themselves in that fortunate position of having more than one buyer wanting to outbid each other. Instead, 51 buyers got away from negotiations with an average discount amounting to $10,814. The remaining two settled at the seller’s full price.

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

It was another reasonably strong week for the Saskatoon real estate market given the season as we saw the fourth consecutive week in which sales met or exceeded numbers recorded for the same period the previous year. Local agents reported 46 firm sales to the Saskatoon MLS® system this week for a weekly gain of five units, enough to match sales for the same week last year.

At the same time, the number of new listings that were added to the multiple listing service® fell, and in fact, recorded annual declines for the second week in a row. A total of just 136 listings were added to the system over the course of the week, for a weekly decline of 33, and an annual drop of 45 Saskatoon homes.

Even as sales saw some marginal gains and new listings slid lower, the total number of available MLS® listings grew for the third consecutive week to close the week at 1611, up 33 from last week’s close to finish up on numbers recorded on this date last year by 178. A closer look by housing type shows that buyers have a selection of 881 single-family homes to choose from, up from 810 at this time last year. Condominium inventory grew to 575, up from 481 a year ago. These are some of the smallest annual gains that we’ve seen in a year’s time, but of course, we’re now looking backwards at some inventory numbers that had already taken big gains.

A slightly stronger run at the upper end of the Saskatoon real estate market brought the median sale price of a Saskatoon home back out of the depths and into more “normal” territory as it rose more than 50K to $342,000 while one sale above the million dollar mark pushed the average price higher to $355,759. The six-week average price took its second consecutive weekly decline as it slid eight thousand dollars to $346,182 to reach its lowest point since late October, five grand lower than it was a year ago. Meanwhile, the four-week median price moved in the opposite direction growing by eight thousand dollars on the week to reach $331,500. It fell short of where it sat at this time last year by thirty five hundred dollars.

After being shut out for a few weeks in a row overbid sales returned to the board as three lucky sellers managed to close a deal above their asking price with a modest bonus of $1243 being paid on average. On the flip side of the negotiation table buyers made off with larger than normal discounts as 42 home sellers agreed to a deal that had them dropping an average of $15,122 to close the sale.

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

For the first time since September of 2014, the Saskatoon real estate market showed positive sales gains on a year-over-year basis for a third consecutive week. They’re not big weeks, so the numbers aren’t that impressive, but its something positive to talk about for a market that saw sales drop during all but a small handful of weeks in 2015. Local agents reported 41 firm residential deals to the Saskatoon multiple listing service® this week, up from 35 the previous week to finish well ahead of the 28 transactions processed during the same period last year.

Meanwhile, the number of new listings added to the MLS® fell to 159, down about 61 units compared to last week, even falling short of new listing numbers for the same week last year by 20 Saskatoon homes.

In spite of rising sales and falling listings, the database of active Saskatoon real estate listings managed to make some small gains as it grew to 1578 from 1542 a week ago, leaving us up on an annual basis by 230 homes. Today, home buyers can find 875 single-family homes listed for sale in Saskatoon, up just 16 from last week for a year-over-year increase of 104. Condominium inventory moved up by 19 from last week to finish the week with 539 available properties for an annual increase of 108 units. The balance of the gains that we see fall into the other housing types, like duplexes, semi-detached homes, vacant lots, etc.

A welcome burst of activity at the entry levels of the local real estate market brought the median sale price of a Saskatoon home lower this week to just $290,000. The average price for the week also slipped as it fell to $342,652. The six-week average sale price edged lower losing about five thousand dollars from where it stood a week ago. It settled at $354,260 when all of the sales were counted for an annual increase of about six thousand dollars. Meanwhile, the four-week median price fell to $323,500 taking a $10,000 drop on the week, but a year-over-year increase of forty-five hundred dollars.

It was another week with no overbid sales. I believe that to be the third week in a row, which might also be the longest run in that department for quite some time. While five sellers did manage to negotiate a full price offer, 30 of the week’s 41 sales closed below the asking price generating an average discount of $9,132.

Other notable real estate activity this past week included 46 canceled and withdrawn listings (45 and one respectively), 39 expired listings and 32 price changes.

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

The Saskatoon real estate market is out of the gate for 2016, but moving at a slow pace as expected for the first week of January. Local agents reported just 25 firm residential sales to the Saskatoon multiple listing service®, growing by seven sales when compared against the previous week, and up two from the same week last year.

The number of new listings added to the MLS® exploded, just as it did as the new year year got underway last year. This is also expected given that some 400 or so listings have expired in the past thirty days. So, this past week 220 new listings hit the system, many of them making a repeat appearance. Those totals are up from just 48 listings last week, and ahead of the numbers generated during the same week last year when 194 new listings entered the system.

After slipping to its lowest point since mid-January of 2015, the MLS® inventory of available homes grew to 1542 for a weekly increase of 110 units, and a year-over-year increase of 290 homes. Just like last year, we are beginning the new year with record levels of inventory. How high they’ll go in 2016 is anybody’s guess. Last year we picked up 900 listings between the start of the year and the peak. It seems pretty likely to me that a new record will be reached this year.

Taking a closer look by housing type, today you’ll find 861 single-family home listings, up from 731 a year ago. Condo inventory comes in at 520 units today, way up from the 337 properties that could be found on the system at this time last year.

The average selling price of a Saskatoon home reached $365,010 this week, about where it was last week. The median price moved higher reaching $347,500. Meanwhile, the six-week average price grew by about $4,000 over the week to find itself up about eleven thousand dollars compared to levels of the previous year. The four-week median price took a drop of $6500 when compared to last week to finish the week down on a year-over-year basis by six thousand dollars.

As is often the case, this particular time of year delivers some of the more favourable conditions for buyer. As a result, there were no overbid sales this week, though four buyers did pay full price. 31 of the week’s 35 sales went below the asking price generating a hefty average discount of $16,532. This number was somewhat skewed by the highest priced sale of the bunch, a Nutana area home priced above $1,000,000 that gave up more than 100K to close the deal.

Other notable real estate activity this past week included 54 cancelled and withdrawn listings (43 and 11 respectively), 48 expired listings and 33 price changes.

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

Happy New Year!

Another year is in the history books for the Saskatoon real estate market as the final week of 2015 came to a close.

As you might expect, weeks like these are typically slow as people are more focused on recovering from that holiday hangover brought on by a little too much turkey and dessert, not to mention a liberal flow of holiday cheer for many. It’s typically one of the few weeks of the year when a real estate agent can really get some rest, as the phone rarely rings and customer demands are low. This week, local REALTORS® reported just 28 firm residential sales, an increase of two when compared against the previous week, and down six when compared against the final week of 2014.

New listings managed to pick up a bit of steam as they grew by seven units from the week before to reach 48, but still fell well short of numbers generated during the same week a year ago when 74 Saskatoon homes were introduced to the Saskatoon MLS® system.

Just as you can count on this particular week to stink each year when it comes to reported sales, you can bank on active listings plunging lower as large numbers of listings with a December 31 expiry date slide out of the system with no love having been found. 2015 was no exception. As the calendar turned and the new year began 212 listings expired from the Saskatoon multiple listing service® and the total number of Saskatoon homes for sale fell to 1432 for a total weekly decline of 214. At the outset, that might appear to be good news to would-be sellers, and forgive me for bursting your joy bubble, but while this is the first time we’ve seen sub-1500 numbers since mid-February that number is up from 1032 at the end of the same week last year, which amounts to a 39 percent year-over-year increase in active listings numbers. That’s one of the largest year-over-year increases we’ve seen in a few months and we have now entered 2016 with the largest inventory levels I ever recall seeing for this time of year so we’ve likely got an interesting ride ahead as we move towards spring.

Taking a closer look at active listings by housing types we see 806 active single-family home listings, well down from 913 last week, but again showing a pretty hefty increase from a year ago when just 677 houses could be found showing an active status on the Saskatoon MLS®. Condo inventory slipped more significantly dropping from 568 last week to 480 today to find itself up on an annual basis by 122 units.

There wasn’t a great deal of upper end housing activity this week but the entry level was particularly soft which ushered the median price paid for a Saskatoon home sharply higher too $354,900 while the average price made a more modest but still strong jump to $365,029. The longer term measures moved in opposite directions as the six-week average sale price edged up just a couple of hundred dollars on the week to reach $355,231 for an annual increase of roughly 17K. The four-week median fell lower to $340,000 to finish down seventy five hundred dollars from last week but up by fifteen thousand when compared against the number recorded for the closing week of 2014.

Click the image for a larger version of the graph.

Five lucky sellers got a late Christmas gift as they wrapped up a deal at their full asking price. The remaining 23 faired fairly well too, even though they had to give a little to close the sale. Those deal averaged a discount of $11,689.

Other notable real estate activity this past week included 25 cancelled and withdrawn listings (18 and seven respectively), 212 expired listings and 11 price changes.

Once again, thanks to all of you who have done business with our team in 2015, and to those we just showed up for a market update here and there. We really do appreciate you. Happy New Year. May 2016 be your best year ever.

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