While the number of Saskatoon real estate sales for the week fell well below the previous week’s totals, numbers that were inflated by a last-minute rush of buyers looking to beat new mortgage qualification rules that came in on October 17, the past seven days shaped up fairly nicely as local agents reported 78 firm residential deals to the MLS® for a weekly decline of about two dozen. Still, that was enough to top sales for the same week last year when just 63 sales went firm. I expect that we are still seeing a few deals that were filed before the deadline, so it remains to be seen how those new realities will impact the market.

Over the same period, 162 new MLS® listings were added to the system, down 15 from the previous week, and five fewer than were listed over the same period last year.

The total number of active residential listings available through the multiple listing service® in Saskatoon continued to slip lower as we would expect at this time of the year. As of this morning, there are 1832 properties in the broader residential category. That number represents a drop of 37 units from last Saturday and is down 130 listings from a year ago. Today, we have 995 single-family homes for sale, 18 fewer than were available a week ago, and down 135 from where the inventory stood a year ago. Condominium levels remain high at 666, which is down 22 from a week earlier, and up six on a year-over-year basis.

The median sale price for the week fell lower, but only marginally. The average slipped eight thousand dollars to $331,091 while the median came down just $1500 to $317,500. Again, I suspect that there are a good handful of deals in this week’s numbers that were actually processed under the old rules so this change may become more obvious as we move forward.

The longer-term price measures also moved lower, but not very dramatically. The six-week average price came down about twenty-seven hundred dollars from a week ago to $350,042 taking an annual gain of just over twenty-five hundred bucks. The four-week median prices slipped two thousand dollars from a week earlier to close at $333,000 for a year-over-year decline of 12K.

Like last week, 11 deals came through at the full asking price but sellers found no love in the overbid arena. Shut out. Meanwhile, 67 of 78 firm sales closed below the asking price netting those buyers and an average discount of $11,909.

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

I reported to you last week that mortgage brokers were working at “a feverish pace” attempting to process Saskatoon real estate deals to get them into the queue in advance of rule changes taking effect on October 17. That work resulted in 103 firm residential deals, up from 68 the previous week to beat sales for the same period last year by two dozen units. I expect that there will be a few stragglers that will also be reported firm next week but we should begin to quickly get some understanding of how these changes will impact markets across Canada.

New listings came in at 177 this week, up from 154 a week earlier to top volume for the same week last year by 27 homes.

The inventory of active residential listing for sale on the MLS® slipped lower by 34 over the course of the week to close at 1869, for a year-over-year decline of 113 properties. Most of the drop was seen in the single-family homes category which sits at 1012 today, down from 1135 a year ago. Condo inventory slipped two from last week to 688, up from 672 a year ago.

As you might expect, those affected most by mortgage rule changes are at the entry levels and that’s the kind of product that saw the greatest surge this week. That pushed the weekly median price and the weekly average lower to $319,900 and $339,302 respectively. Both of the longer-term measures in a downward direction as well. The six-week average price slid nearly three thousand dollars from the week before to finish at $352,700 to claim an annual increase of seven thousand dollars. The four-week median price dropped four thousand dollars on the week to $335,000 for a year-over-year loss approaching 10K.

While 11 sellers managed to find a buyer willing to settle a deal at full list price, just two were lucky enough to find someone who would pay more than the asking price, one by $10,100 and the other by just $100. The remaining 90 deals required some give on the seller’s side. Those transactions closed showing an average discount of $13,321. 

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 Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), released national sales statistics for the month of September, 2016 this week.

According to the CREA, “The number of homes trading hands via Canadian MLS® Systems rose 0.8 percent month-over-month in September 2016. Having eased in each of the previous four months, national home sales are 5.6 percent below the record set in April 2016.”

Highlights of CREA's report    

• National home sales edged up 0.8% from August to September.
• Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity in September rose 4.2% year-over-year (y-o-y).
• The number of newly listed homes ticked up 0.5% from August to September.
• The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) in September was up 14.4% y-o-y.
• The national average sale price climbed 9.5% y-o-y.

  Read the entire report on Canadian MLS® sales for September, 2016.

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

In spite of reports that mortgage brokers were working at a feverish pace attempting to firm up mortgage approvals prior to the introduction of stricter qualifying rules that come into effect on Monday, Saskatoon real estate sales, while up from 54 last week came in at a rather run of mill 68 this week. That tops production for the same week last year by just one deal.

New listings eased substantially from a week earlier as local agents brought just 154 property listings to the system, down 80 from last week, and ten fewer than were added to the multiple listing service® over the same week last year.

Inventory levels of Saskatoon homes for sale slipped lower to 1903 this week, down just 17 from last week’s close to finish the week lower by 113 units when compared against levels recorded on this date last year. Most of the annual declines are found in the single-family homes category which stands at 1040 listings today, down from 1154 a year ago. Condominium inventory moderated some and closed the week at 690, up just 26 from a year earlier.

Perhaps a silver lining to the new stricter mortgage rules which will reduce high-ratio borrowers buying power by 20 percent may be an increased market for condos. If an entry-level buyers affordability level drops from 300K to 240K a condo may become their best option if they’re not into renting. It will be interesting to see how that plays out and whether buyers will begin to embrace the clear buyer’s market that exists in that category.

With far fewer home sales above the 500K mark, and none above a million (like there were during the previous two weeks) the average weekly sale price of a Saskatoon home tumbled lower to more typical levels at $353,384 even while the weekly median held fairly steady at $336,500. The six-week median price continued to push higher and reached $355,237 for a weekly increase of close to three thousand dollars and a year-over-year increase of eleven thousand dollars. The four-week median price fell one thousand dollars from last week to $339,000 and finished lower than it was a year earlier by six thousand dollars.

Following a complete shut out on overbid and “at list price” sales last week, sellers faired a bit better as six of them got their asking price and one scored a deal at $9,100 more than they were asking. The remaining 61 sales closed below the asking price with a hefty average discount of $14,489.

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 third consecutive week Saskatoon real estate sales headed lower. Local REALTORS® reported just 54 firm residential sales to the Saskatoon multiple listing service® over the past seven days, down 13 from the previous period to close lower on an annual basis by 18 homes. New listings moved in the opposite direction, spiking rather handily as 234 listings were added to the MLS® for a weekly increase of 51 units, and an annual gain of 75 Saskatoon homes.

The inventory of residential listings on the Saskatoon MLS® diverted from what appears to have become the seasonal trend of decline to jump higher to 1920 homes leaving us ahead of where we sat at this time last week by 68 homes, and down 103 units from the close of the same week last year. This type of growth is not entirely unusual for the first week of the month as some of the listings that expired at the close of September come back for another go at the market.

Today we see 1,049 single-family homes for sale within the city of Saskatoon, down from 1,161 a year ago. Condo inventory, which recorded its first annual decline in well over three years last week lost the battle and is now showing annual gains again as it climbed to 703 units, up from 679 at the close of the same week in 2015.

You may recall that last week the Saskatoon MLS® recorded its first local sale ever over the $2 million mark. That happened a second time this week as another luxury home located at the Willows Golf Community found a willing buyer. Still, a much higher percentage of lower end sales ushered the median sale price for the week down by more than 20K to $334,500. With seven of this week’s sales recording a sale price greater than 500K the weekly average sale price remained lofty for a second week in a row at $372,489. Meanwhile, the six-week median-priced edged up gaining just a few hundred dollars over the week to close at $352,599. That amounts to an annual increase of about five thousand dollars. The four-week median price slipped lower by 5K to $340,000 and also finished higher than it was at this time last year by five thousand dollars.

Saskatoon home sellers got skunked this week with no overbid sales. Likewise, no homes were reported to have sold for the full asking price. Every buyer who signed on the dotted line this week netted an average discount of $10,829.

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 following is a media release issued by the Saskatoon Region Association of REALTORS® regarding residential sales and listing statistics for the month of September 2016. The charts are brought to you by TeamFisher of Royal LePage Vidorra.

For many, the average sale price is used to benchmark where the market is at. Year-to-date statistics reinforce why that is not a sound practice. As of the end of September, a total of 2,936 unit sales were recorded, a seven percent drop from the same period in 2015. By comparison, the average sale price of $351,835 remains virtually unchanged from one year ago.

Furthermore, the average sale price for September of 2016 was six percent higher than last September. The reason; an increase in the number of properties selling at the higher end of the price range coupled with a decline in more affordable home sales. More specifically, year-to-date, the number of units selling between $300,000 and $500,000 declined by 12 percent while the number of units selling above $750,000 increased by 20 percent.

The Home Price Index (HPI) tool was created by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) as a way to more accurately reflect changes in home pricing and predict pricing trends. The HPI uses a starting point of January of 2002 and establishes a "benchmark" value for a typical property type. This value is then indexed over time to reflect changes in the market. The composite benchmark value for a home in Saskatoon in January of 2002 was $115,000. Currently, the composite benchmark price is $308,600.

This index has changed very little since January when it was at $305,400. This would indicate little change in value over the first nine months of the year and prices have remained virtually unchanged since June.

New listings for September were down 20 percent compared to September of 2015. "A reduction in new listings has a positive impact on the overall inventory levels in Saskatoon which have been elevated since the spring of 2015," comments Jason Yochim, CEO with the Saskatoon Region Association of REALTORS®.

"Ideally we would like to see the number of active listings around 1,500 units," he adds. At the end of September, the number of active listings was 1,841. The five-year average is 1,625 units. The high watermark for active listings was 2,081 in June of 2015.

The number of sales for September was 324 units, a nine percent reduction from last year. Year-to-date, the total unit sales were down seven percent compared to 3,167 units a year ago.

The average time to sell a home in Saskatoon is currently 51 days, while the five-year average is 41 days. These homes have been selling for 97.4 percent of the asking price. "The key element in the sale of a property is proper pricing, buyers are more educated today than ever before," adds Yochim.

This is reflected in the close relationship between asking and selling price. Homes that don't sell are likely listed further from the true market value.

Sound pricing and timing advice can be provided by one of the 640 professionally licensed and trained REALTOR® members of The Saskatoon Region Association of REALTORS®. REALTORS® also subscribe to a strict code of ethics and are dedicated to developing professional standards and continuing education in the real estate profession.

Jason Yochim CAE, CRAE Chief Executive Officer - Saskatoon Region Association of REALTORS®

Saskatoon real estate sales and new listings both continued to soften this week, something that can pretty much be counted on to happen at this time of the year. Local REALTORS® produced 72 firm residential transactions for a decline of nine compared to last week and down eight from the same week a year ago. More notably, while the number of new listings added to the MLS® fell just nine from a week ago to 159, they recorded an annual decline of 44 property listings.

The total number of active MLS® listings in the residential category took its largest single-week decline in well over three years largely due to the loss of 158 listings that met the end of the allotted term without a sale during the final week of September. By this morning 1852 properties remain for sale, down from 2005 at the same time last year. For the first time in at least two years, the number of active condominium listings fell lower on an annual basis as it slipped to 695, down 31 units from the previous year’s tally. Single-family homes inventory sits at 1004 this morning, down from 1090 a year ago.

Based on single-family home sales for the most recent 30 days (229 units), the current absorption rate is 4.38 months, a balanced market. Looking more closely at single-family homes inventory priced below $450K and that measure drops to just 3.7 months, right into seller’s market territory. On the other hand, with detached homes priced above $500K we see an 8.3 month supply, which, while large, is not unusual in this range. It often hovers in the 10-14 month range even during some of our highest sales volume years. I think this segment of the market will perform pretty well as the number of new homes that are completed and unabsorbed continues to fall as it has pretty consistently this year. At the close of August, those numbers were down nearly 30 percent on an annual basis.

Condos continue to struggle in buyer’s market territory with an 8.3 month supply across all price ranges (695 listings/84 sales). The situation is worst at the low end of the market with a near 14 month of supply of condos valued at $200,000 or less. That supply falls to nearly half of that (7.2 months) when we look at condos prices above $200,000. This segment will likely struggle for some time yet as the supply that is under construction or completed and unabsorbed (up 40 percent annually) sits at very lofty levels.

Following a week during which an unusually large number of lower-end sales hit the mix, a return to a more typical balance between upper and lower end sales saw the weekly median price recapture last week’s losses to close at $355,000. Meanwhile, the average sale price of a Saskatoon home fell just shy of reaching a high point for the year as it soared to $385,067. The lofty average was largely driven by the sale of a property that boasted a final price tag of $2,310,000 to take the prize as the highest priced Saskatoon residential property (Areas typically defined as 1 through 5) to ever be reported to the multiple listing service®. The six-week average price of a Saskatoon home, following six weeks of steady declines turned upward and grew by seven thousand dollars this week to reach $352,274 and finished higher on an annual basis by eight thousand dollars. The four-week median price, which has been more stable than the long-term averages reached $345,000. That’s up ten thousand dollars from last week and as high as it has been at any time this year. Further, it’s up fifteen thousand dollars from where it sat at this time last year. That’s the largest year-over-year increase in the four-week median price since the closing week of 2015.

Eight of this week’s sales closed at the seller’s asking price while four went for more by an average of $5500. Buyers managed to grind themselves a deal in 60 of the 72 completed contracts netting an average discount of $10,984.

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