The number of firms sales reported to the multiple listing service® softened on both a weekly and an annual basis. Saskatoon real estate agents brought in 81 deals, down two from last week to fall short of numbers generated during the same week last year by 15 homes. New listings slipped lower by three from a week ago to 168 which is 35 fewer new listings than were processed over the same period of 2015.

The inventory of active MLS® listings continued to fall and closed the week at 1958, down 29 from the previous week’s close, and lower than where it stood a year ago by 101 properties. Most of the drop can still be attributed to declines in the single-family home inventory which closed the week at 1071, down from 1165 a year ago. Condo inventory continues to record year-over-year increases as it now sits at 721 units, up from 688 at this time last year.

In spite of a sale that came in at $1.2 million, a softening in upper end trades brought the weekly median price down by nearly thirty thousand dollars from last week to $322,900. The average sale price fell less declining just over 10K to $338,092. Meanwhile, both of our longer term measures also slipped lower with the six-week average sale price of a Saskatoon home sliding to $344,934. That’s roughly two thousand lower than it was the previous week and just a thousand dollars above where it sat at the close of the same week last year. The four-week median fell nearly nine grand to settle at $335,000 which is just one hundred and twelve dollars higher than it was a year ago.

A full 25 percent of this week’s deals sold for the full asking price, while just one went for more, that deal netting the seller a $5,100 bonus. Another 61 sales closed for less than the seller’s asking price with a large average discount of $14,974. Area 4 sales saw a huge average discount of $25,560 due to a few small sales that went $40,000 to $45,000 below list.

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

Saskatoon real estate sales numbers bounced higher after recording one of the softest weeks we’ve seen in months last week. Local REALTORS® brought 83 firm residential deals to the multiple listing service®, up from 65 for the previous period, to finish seven deals below what was recorded for the same week last year. Meanwhile, the number of new residential listings that were added to the MLS® continued to slip lower with this week’s tally reaching 171 for a seven day decline of 21 units, down from 214 from a year ago.

Decent sales, softer listing activity and a good burst of expired listings helped push the total inventory of active residential listings lower. It fell to 1985, down from 2058 a year ago to record the largest annual decline we’ve seen since listings fell lower on a year-over-year basis for the first time in more than three years, last month. Today, buyers can find 1091 single-family homes offered for sale on the MLS®, down nine percent from levels recorded at this time last year when 1199 detached homes were available. Condo inventory inched lower this week as well as those numbers slipped to 723 for an annual gain of just 43 units.

The mix of higher end versus lower end sales looks a lot like it did last week. Consequently, the weekly average and the weekly median stayed fairly stable at $349,950 and $349,900 respectively. The longer term measures moved in opposite directions as the six-week average price continued to decline for the fifth consecutive week to settle at $347,075 for a weekly decline approaching five thousand dollars. It did finish ahead of last year by a couple of thousand bucks. Interesting to me is that this downward drop to the six-week average seems to repeat itself annually around this time of the year. In each of the last four years it has fallen fairly hard for several weeks before bottoming around this time (or over the next few weeks) when it begins to climb again through the balance of the year. While the six-week average slipped lower, the four-week median price pushed for higher ground and reached $343,850 for a weekly increase of close to 4K to finish up from a year ago by a bit more than ten thousand dollars.

While six lucky sellers did manage a full price offer, and three others found a buyer willing to pay more than their asking price by an average of $3,243 it was a good week for buyers. They managed to grind themselves a discount at the negotiating table in 73 of this weeks 83 deals, and recorded a lofty average discount of $15,497 one of the largest we’ve seen in awhile. This number appears to be skewed by a few deals that saw huge discounts including a Rosewood priced at $850K that sold for $70,000 below list, a Montgomery home that took a $47,000 discount and a handful of other homes around the $500,000 mark that went $20,000 to $30,000 below list.

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

Following the close of the first month that recorded year-over-year sales gains in 2016, Saskatoon real estate sales fell flat this week as local REALTORS® reported just 65 firm deals to the multiple listings service®, a drop of 17 compared to last week, but just enough to continue a trend of meeting or beating sales for the same week the year before, now six times in a row.

he number of new listings added to the MLS® system declined to 190 which is also down 17 from last week, and 31 fewer homes than were listed during the same period of 2015.

The total number of active residential listings on the multiple listing service made some gains as number grew from 1986 at last week’s close to 2004 today, down from 2056 a year ago. Today’s totals show 1102 single-family homes with an active status, well below the 1358 detached houses available last year at this time. Meanwhile, condo inventory inched higher to 734 to close with about 57 more units than were available on this date in 2015.

With far more sales above the average than below, the weekly median price grew again to $349,900 while the weekly average also pushed higher to $346,575. Stronger prices in the short-term couldn’t keep the six-week average from falling for the fourth consecutive week as it closed at $351,411 for a weekly decline of about six thousand dollars but still nearly 4K above where it was a year ago. Spurred by the lack of lower end sales, the four-week median managed to gain five thousand dollars from last week to finish at $340,000 about even with were it stood a year earlier.

After a three week overbid drought, seller found a bit more love at the bargaining table and five of them made off with an above list sale with a average bonus of $9,598 being paid. On the other said of the table, 58 buyers got away with a discount off of the list price that averaged $6,335. Another two deal closed at the full asking 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

Saskatoon real estate agents and associations are giddy with excitement as the market recorded its first month to show some gains this year. If you didn’t catch that release, it’s here.

Following a four-week winning streak during which Saskatoon real estate trades met or beat numbers from the same period last year, sales softened. Local agents reported 82 firm residential deals to the multiple listing service® this week, down ten from last week, to fall short of numbers recorded the same week last year by just three. Meanwhile, the number of new listings processed by our board went through the roof, as they often do when month end falls in the middle of a week. Many listings that fail to sell will expire on the final day of the month only to come back as a new listing on the 1st. The number of new listings came in at 207 for a weekly gain of 47 units but still fell short of the same period last year when 257 listings were added to the MLS®.

Even with a high volume of new listings and softer sales, the number of properties listed for sale on the Saskatoon multiple listing service® took its third consecutive decline and fell below 2000 homes for the first time since early May. This morning, total active residential listings are at 1986, down from 2048 at last week’s close for a year-over-year decline of 47 homes. Taking a closer look by housing type, there is a selection of 1090 single-family homes for sale in Saskatoon, down 17 over seven days, for an annual drop of 78 homes, or a decline of nearly seven percent. Condominium inventory took a big dip this week as it slipped lower by 44 units to end the week at 726, up from 663 a year ago, an annual increase of nearly ten percent. August was a decent sales month for apartments, which even recorded some price gains for the second month in a row, but much of the drop in the numbers can be attributed to expired listings and not actual absorption.

A bit more activity at the upper end of the Saskatoon real estate market ushered the weekly median price higher by nearly ten percent this week as it reached $327,500 while far fewer sales above 500K brought the weekly average price paid for a Saskatoon home down by almost as much, to $330,530. The longer term measures that we track each fell, albeit fairly modestly. The six-week average price slipped just over a thousand dollars to $357,174 to find itself up from a year ago for the fifth consecutive week, this time by just under seven thousand dollars. The four-week median price fell three thousand dollars over the week to settle at $335,000 for an annual loss of nearly 10K.

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