Thank you for reading the Saskatoon real estate week in review.
I’m away in Iceland this week participating in a fundraiser for Canadian women’s shelters. This weekly review has been published every week for over a decade and we weren’t about to let this trip get in the way. In order to get you the data in a timely manner, we’re delivering our regular charts, without commentary.
Thanks for understanding.
Thank you for reading the Saskatoon real estate week in review.
I’m away in Iceland this week participating in a fundraiser for Canadian women’s shelters. This weekly review has been published every week for over a decade and we weren’t about to let this trip get in the way. In order to get you the data in a timely manner, we’re delivering our regular charts, without commentary.
Thanks for understanding.
For most of us, home is our safe place. It's a place we can go to escape the pressures of life and shelter ourselves from danger. Unfortunately, home is not a safe place for everyone. Each year, hundreds of Saskatoon women and children fall victim to domestic violence. Make no mistake, these are women that you know, because violence against women has no socioeconomic barriers. It can happen to anyone. It does happen to far too many.
There are many issues that we need to address to break this awful cycle but the first priority is to provide these women and kids with somewhere to turn. They need a safe place to stay while they rebuild their lives. They need people who understand the challenges they face. People who can help them start again and build a future that’s free of violence.
You can help them find that. You can make an immediate and profound difference in the lives of people who are suffering right now. The question is, will you?
Saskatoon’s YWCA Saskatoon Crisis Shelter and Saskatoon Interval House provide these services. Over the years, thousands of women and children have found refuge in one of these shelters.
On Friday, July 21, 2017, my wife Becky and I head for Iceland to participate in a 100 KM trek to raise funds for this great cause. 85% of the funds we raise will go to the two shelters noted above. The 15% balance will be directed towards violence prevention programs to teach young people how to deal with life's challenges without resorting to violence.
If you’d like to support us and these great shelters, you can do so by clicking the "Make a Donation" button at www.TeamFisherTrekForShelter.ca.
Many thanks to all who have contributed.
We will be without internet access while we trek next week but look forward to updating you when we return.
While Saskatoon real estate sales numbers saw some growth on a week-over-week basis, they slipped lower from a year earlier. Local real estate agents reported 78 sales to the MLS® this week, up from 70 for the previous seven day period and well down from the 93 residential sales recorded for the same week last year.
New listing numbers surged upwards to 228, an increase from 200 last week, and also up by 22 homes compared to the same week last year.
The number of Saskatoon homes offered for sale on the multiple listing service® pushed higher for the second week in a row, raising the question, “have we actually reached our inventory peak for this year.” Yesterday came and went with 2228 residential listings appearing active when it closed, 59 higher than it was a week earlier, and topping last year’s numbers by 159 properties. This year’s peak of 2251, which we reached in mid-June, is the highest number of active listings ever recorded on the Saskatoon MLS® system. Will we go higher yet? The next couple of weeks will tell.
As of this morning, there are 1251 single-family homes for sale, up from 1212 last week and well ahead of the 1107 houses available at this time last year. Condo inventory has reached 815, a gain of 34 from a week earlier, and up 15 from a year ago.
A more even distribution of sales across the various price ranges brought the weekly median price back to $337,750 as the average for the week came in at $353,830. The six-week average price inched higher to $352,018 to record an annual loss of nearly 10K. The four-week median price slipped lower to $325,000 to find itself down by fourteen thousand dollars from a year ago.
One lucky seller received an above list price offer but the bonus was small at $100. On the flip side, 74 of this week’s buyers sealed a deal with an average discount of $11,198. The remaining three sales were reported sold at the 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
Despite seeing a healthy amount of demand, high inventory levels contribute to slight decreases in pricing across the region
SASKATOON, July 13, 2017 – According to the Royal LePage House Price Survey1 and Market Survey Forecast released today, the aggregate price of a home in Saskatoon dipped slightly in the second quarter of 2017, slipping by 1.7 per cent year-over-year to $379,864.
When broken out by housing type, the median price of a two-storey home and bungalow both declined by 1.7 per cent year-over-year to $409,633 and $345,868, respectively.
“Saskatoon’s residential real estate market continued to march onwards in the second quarter of 2017, producing sales figures that are on par with the same time last year,” said Norm Fisher, broker and owner, Royal LePage Vidorra.
“While inventory is at an all-time high, home prices have been supported by modest population and job growth, combined with continued low interest rates.”
Looking ahead, Fisher forecasts that pricing and sales activity will soften slightly by the end of the year, as high inventory levels and a seasonal slowing of demand dampens the market.
Nationally, Canada’s residential real estate market posted strong home price gains in the second quarter of 2017, with the majority of metropolitan markets across Canada displaying expansionary trends. During the quarter, the Royal LePage National House Price Composite showed that the price of a home in Canada increased 13.8 per cent year-over-year to $609,144. When broken out by housing type, the price of a two-storey home rose 14.6 per cent year-overyear to $725,391, while the price of a bungalow increased by 10.7 per cent to $511,965. Over the same period, the price of a condominium climbed 13.4 per cent to $397,826.
“Following a period of unprecedented regional disparity in activity and price appreciation, we are now seeing a return to healthy growth in the majority of Canadian housing markets,” said Phil Soper, president and CEO, Royal LePage.
“The white-hot markets are moderating to very warm; the depressed markets are beginning to grow again. Canadian housing is in great shape – a statement that I certainly did not make last quarter.”
“The rate of national house price appreciation that we experienced in the second quarter continues to be above what we would consider a normal range, driven primarily by very strong year-over-year price growth across much of Ontario,” continued Soper.
Looking ahead to the remainder of the year, Royal LePage forecasts that the national aggregate price of a home will increase by 9.5 per cent in 2017 to $617,773 when compared to year-end, 2016.
Read also: Global News - Home Prices in Saskatoon continue to slide: Royal LePage
Saskatoon real estate sales lost some steam for the second week in a row as residential sales fell to just 70 units, down from 90 the previous week. That’s 15 fewer homes than were sold during the same week last year. The majority of this week’s sales were on the east side of Saskatoon with areas three through five reporting just 12 firm deals.
New listing activity was strong, as it almost always is during the first week of the month when the expired listings that were removed from the system as the previous month closed are re-listed for another go at the market. This week saw 200 Saskatoon homes added to the multiple listing service®, beating the previous week’s numbers by 16, and ahead of the same period last year by ten.
The number of Saskatoon homes listed for sale on the MLS® grew slightly. As of this morning, there is a total of 2169 residential properties offered for sale. That’s higher than the previous week’s close by just 16 and ahead of levels recorded at the close of the same week last year by 95. Saskatoon home buyers have a selection of 1212 single-family homes, well up from 1089 a year earlier. Condo inventory sits at 800, up just 17 from numbers recorded for this category a year earlier.
Over the past couple of weeks, high-end housing activity has buoyed prices significantly. This week, with 29 sales reported to have sold below the $300,000 mark, both the weekly average price and the weekly median price of a Saskatoon home tumbled to $346,858 and $324,950 respectively. The six-week average price still managed to make some small weekly gains as it closed at $351,827 to record an annual loss of just more than two thousand dollars. The four-week median price inched lower to $329,000 to find itself down on an annual basis by a little less than three thousand dollars.
Overbid sales continue to be sparse. This week - non-existent. Six fortunate sellers did manage to secure an offer at their asking price. The remaining 64 sales were reported to have sold below the seller's asking price with an average discount of $13,369.
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
At the halfway point of the year, housing sales are on par with year-to-date totals in 2016. 1,850 units have traded hands in Saskatoon this year.
The average sale price of $350,000 is virtually unchanged from a year ago. Also, the year-to-date median price is $330,000 which is also comparable to that of last year. Helping to sustain these prices is a notable increase (25 percent) in home sales over $600,000 offsetting a decline (three percent) in sales below $600,000.
For this year, the total number of sales over $600,000 in Saskatoon is 101 of which 90 were single-family homes. There were 1,765 transactions below $600,000 by the end of June. The number of condominium units sold so far this year was 533, representing a five percent increase over last year. With the mortgage qualification changes implemented last October, some buyers had to shift their purchase decision from single-family to condominium to allow for a reduced purchase price. The total dollar volume for Saskatoon and area of $846 million is the lowest year-to-date total since June of 2011. The highest dollar volume reached for the midpoint of the year was in 2014 when volume had reached $1.1 billion.
Much has been said about the number of homes available in Saskatoon. Currently, there are over 2,100 active listings in the city. This number of homes would take just over five months to liquidate at the current rate of sales. This number of actively listed properties also means that we are still firmly in a buyer’s market. Just 41 percent of listed homes are selling compared to the five-year average of 50 percent. In the overheated market of 2007, there were only 375 active listings and a sales to listing ratio of an incredible 79 percent. This was at a time when Saskatoon’s population was around 210,000 residents meaning we had one active listing for every 560 residents. In 2012, we had 1,254 active listings. With a population of 239,420, there was one active listing for every 190 residents. Today, as Saskatoon’s current population is 268,158 we have one active listing for every 125 people.
On average, it takes 45 days to sell a home in Saskatoon. This is the lowest days on market average for any month in 2017. “Average days on market can be misleading as well,” cautions Jason Yochim, CEO of the Saskatoon Region Association of REALTORS®. “If homes are properly priced in any price range and in any market condition, they can easily see an offer in much less time.” The key is to get sound advice on the current market for each specific home. “Our REALTOR® members are market experts who are objective and can guide a seller in this critical decision,” he adds.
The market surrounding Saskatoon had a year-to-date decline in sales of 11 percent with a total of 456 transactions. Active listings in this market at the end of June were 1,112 which is a four percent decline from last year.
Jason Yochim CAE, CRAE
Chief Executive Officer
Saskatoon Region Association of REALTORS®
Saskatoon real estate sales slipped lower this week to 90, down 13 from last week to finish just one sale below the numbers recorded during the same period last year.
New MLS® listings also fell. This week’s numbers came in at 184, which is 13 fewer homes than were listed last week, and a whopping 33 more than came on the market during the same period of 2016.
Active MLS® listings inventory saw its largest single week decline as it slipped by 70 homes compared to the close of the previous week. The count of active residential listings is at 2153 today, up 85 from a year earlier. Active condo listings are now at 804, up 30 for the close of the same week last year. Single-family homes have slipped from their peak numbers to 1193 which is 84 more than we had a year ago.
High-end sales missing from the previous week’s numbers came back strong this week with the average sale price of a Saskatoon home coming in at $369,260. The median sale price also surged ahead to $351,000. That was enough to push the four-week median price substantially higher to $333,500 which is still $6500 lower than it was a year earlier. The six-week median inched ahead a few hundred dollars to $348,426 to fall short of last year’s number by about $5400.
After a shutout last week, one overbid sale was recorded this period. That seller hit the jackpot and received $11,500 more than they had asked for their home. Another six sales came in at the asking price. Meanwhile, 83 of this week’s trades are reported to have sold for less than the list price netting those buyers a hefty average discount of $15,697.
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