Like the weather, the Saskatoon real estate market cooled significantly as we moved through what is invariably the slowest week of the year for home sales. REALTORS®, who find that their phones are not at all likely to ring at this time of year find themselves distracted by visions of the sugarplums dancing in their heads, last minute shopping and a great opportunity to unwind after a busy year.

Still, December wrapped up with 205 Saskatoon homes firmly sold, up from 190 last year, but falling short of being the “strongest December in a decade” as I suggested might be the case a couple of weeks ago. There were three Decembers over that period that saw higher levels of trades (215 in 2014, 255 in 2011, and 213 in 2009).

As for the week, agents brought 26 new listings to the multiple listing service®, mostly re-lists that had previously expired. That number is down from 87 the week before and falls below Christmas week listings of last year by six. Just 16 residential sales were reported, down from 44 the week before, for an annual decline of ten.

The inventory of Saskatoon homes for sale on the MLS® fell lower to 1607, down 19 from last week’s close, and up from 1560 a year earlier. Given that a good number of listings will likely expire on the 31st falling into next week’s numbers, we are likely to see one more decline in the inventory before it begins a slow steady upward crawl into the new year. A closer look by category shows 878 active single-family home listings, down from 900 last week, but up from 820 a year ago. Condo listings are sitting at 625 today, virtually unchanged over the course of the week, but up from 607 at this time in 2016.

With just 16 sales in the mix, the price numbers are pretty much meaningless but for the sake of consistency, here goes. The median sale price for the week bounced out of an atypical low to finish at $356,450 while the average sale price of a Saskatoon home this week edged higher to $333,084. The six-week average price grew by nearly five thousand dollars to hit $340,210 for a year-over-year increase of about six hundred dollars. The four-week median price also moved higher picking up nearly four thousand dollars from the week before, but closing lower than it did during the same week last year by 14K.

While three fortunate sellers did manage to close a deal at their asking price, the remaining 13 homes were reported to have sold below list price. The average discount was lower than what I would have expected during a week when sellers would have been lucky to even see a home buyer. Those homes that did sell below the listed price recorded an average discount of just $10,765. Here is a breakdown of what the sales to listing price ratio looked like on this week’s sales.

As 2017 draws to a close, I’d like to wish each of you a happy new year. Thank you so much for continuing to read our updates.

Norm Fisher
Royal LePage Vidorra

Saskatoon real estate sales fell sharply lower this week as local agents reported just 44 firm residential trades to the multiple listing service®, down from 63 during the previous period, and lower by two compared against the number of sales generated during the same week last year.

New listing activity actually increased, most likely due to a week that brought with it a high number of expired listings that re-appeared in the new listing category after they failed to sell during their first go round. This week saw 87 new listings added to the MLS®, an increase of 17 from both the previous week and the same week last year.

The number of active residential listings for sale on the Saskatoon MLS continued to decline, this week falling to 1636, its lowest level since early February. Today’s final tally is down 42 from a week earlier, and still up 16 from a year ago. We close the week with 900 single-family homes for sale, up 52 from this time a year ago. Condo inventory shows a year-over-year decline for the second week in a row with a marginal decline of just two units. As of this morning, there are 627 Saskatoon condominiums for sale on our MLS®.

Increased levels of sales at entry level price points brought the median sale price of a Saskatoon home lower this week to $315,250. The average sale price of a Saskatoon home sold this week fell just a few thousand dollars to $336,268. The longer-term measures that we track both managed to slip lower. The six-week average declined nearly four thousand dollars to $335,368. That’s down about five thousand dollars from a year ago, and its lowest point on the chart for this particular week in five years. The four-week median price fell half as much as the average and reached $321,250 for a year-over-year drop of 14K. It's also at a five-year low for week 51.

Once again, sellers who had any hope that multiple buyers might bid up their price and deliver a sale for more money than they had asked were left disappointed. Not a single Saskatoon home sold above list price, but one seller did find a buyer willing to pay what they'd asked. The remaining 43 trades resulted in a price that was below asking price by an average of $15,118.

Here is a breakdown of what the sales to listing price ration looked like on this week’s sales.

To those who celebrate Christmas, have a wonderful time with your family and friends in the days ahead. I look forward to catching up next weekend as we close 2017.

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

As the second week of December came to a close the Saskatoon real estate market continued to show great spirit. With 145 firm sales in the bag already, month-to-date sales are shaping up to deliver the strongest December in a decade. This week, local agents reported 63 firm residential transactions to the MLS®, down four from the previous week to beat sales for the same period last year by 12.

New listing activity continued to soften as it always does at this time of the year. Only 70 new listings were added to the multiple listing service® this week, down 39 the week before. This week’s totals come in shy of the number of new Saskatoon homes listed during the same week last year by 47 units.

MLS® listing inventory in the residential category also followed a typical pattern for the season as the total number of Saskatoon homes offered for sale on the system declined by 62 from a week ago to settle at 1678. That’s just 16 more homes than were available a year earlier, and ten fewer than the final count for this same week in 2015, once again moving us out of “record for the week” territory. On Saturday afternoon, when I pulled these numbers, there were 924 single-family homes showing an active status on the MLS, down from 968 a week earlier, but still well ahead of the 866 properties that could be found on the system last year at this time. Condo inventory went lower by ten from a week earlier to settle at 639, for an annual decrease of 16 units.

With a strong showing of buyers for homes priced above $500K, including one sale that topped $900,000 the average sale price of a Saskatoon home remained strong at $339,048 while the median price was stable at $323,000. The six-week average price fell about four thousand from its close a week earlier to reach $339,048 for an annual decline of six thousand bucks. The four-week median price grew by three thousand dollars from last week reaching $323,000 for a year-over-year drop of six thousand dollars.

Even with brisk sales activity, December’s sale price to list price ratios are weak, as they almost always are during this particular month when sellers are either in a giving mood, or buyers are feeling particularly grinchy. My experience suggests that it’s likely the former. As the holidays approach, sellers consider a decent offer to be a gift that they would sooner keep than return. This week, only two sellers actually got their price while 61 of the period’s 63 sales were reported to have traded below the asking price by an average of $16,110.

Here is a breakdown of what the sales to listing price ration looked like on this week’s sales.

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 rebounded as local agents reported 67 firm residential transactions to the multiple listing service® this week, up 20 units from the previous period and topping sales for the same week last year by 13. One could easily get the sense that “new mortgage rules” scheduled to take effect on January 1 are pushing an unseasonably strong sales run. Most of the deals I’ve looked at over the past six weeks have been high ratio mortgages that are unaffected by the changes.

The number of new listings that were added to the MLS® increased just slightly to 109 from 106 a week earlier, down eight from the same week last year.

Active listing inventory remained at record levels for the week, but just barely. This morning there are 1740 Saskatoon homes available on the multiple listing service®. At the close of the same week in 2015 there were 1739. That said, today’s levels are higher than they were last year at this time when 1687 homes were for sale on the MLS. As has been the case for the past few months, the largest gains are recorded in the single-family homes category which sits at 968 today, up from 899 a year ago. There are 655 condominiums for sale today, up from 638 at this time last year.

Strong sales activity for homes priced below $200,000 ushered the weekly median price of a Saskatoon home lower to $323,000. Still, with more than 15 percent of the weekly sales at or above the $500,000 mark the weekly average price moved higher by close to 20K as it reached $342,801. The six-week average grew again for the third week in a row to reach its highest point in two months, $343,009, to take an annual loss of less than two thousand dollars, the smallest year-over-year decline in three months time. The four-week median price grew by four thousand dollars from the previous week’s close and hit $320,000 which is still down by fifteen thousand dollars from levels recorded a year ago.

Sellers hoping for some serious competitive action that might drive their sale price above their asking price found no love this week, however, five did manage to close a full price deal, all of those new homes. Meanwhile 62 buyers ground themselves a discount that averaged $14,723. The highest average discount was seen in area two at $20,895 where a couple of high-end homes that closed 40-50K below list price skewed a fairly small number of sales. It seems to me that the month of December can pretty typically be counted on the produce the lowest percentage of overbid sales and some of the highest list to sale price spreads.

Here is a breakdown of what the sales to listing price ration looked like on this week’s sales.

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

As the final week of November drew to a close the Saskatoon real estate market showed signs of softening, to be expected at this time of the year. Local real estate agents reported just 47 firm sales, down from 66 a week earlier and falling even further when compared to the same week last year when 68 transactions were reported to the MLS®. In spite of the soft closing week, the month of November posted the first year-over-year increase we’ve seen in five months time as total residential sales rose seven percent from the same month last year.

The number of new listings that were added to the multiple listing service also fell lower. Over the course of the week, just 106 Saskatoon homes were placed on the market. That’s ten fewer than the previous week, a decline of 40 units compared to the same period last year. This is the ninth consecutive week in which new listings dropped on an annual basis.

Typical of the final week of the month, a good handful of listings expired from the market without a sale. This month saw 129 such listings leave the system having failed to attract a solid offer that would stick. By the close of the week, total active listings on the MLS had fallen by 78 from numbers recorded last Saturday bringing us to 1778 active residential listings and taking us back to record levels for this particular week. Today’s numbers are up by just 72 listings from levels recorded a year ago. The majority of the increases in available inventory can be counted in the single-family homes category which has grown from 915 a year ago to 1007 today. Condo inventory is marginally higher as it reaches 653, just 13 more than were available at this time last year.

On the heels of a week that showed sharply lower prices in all categories, the average sale price of a Saskatoon home rebounded by about 10K to reach $324,912. The median price for the week grew by a whopping forty thousand dollars to reach $330,000. That simply indicates that there were more high-end sales in the mix than there was the week before. Stronger sales at the upper end of the Saskatoon real estate market also brought the six-week average higher as it grew three thousand dollars to $339,235 for a year-over-year decline of five thousand dollars. Meanwhile, the four-week median price took another sharp slide to $316,000 for a weekly drop of nine thousand dollars and an annual loss of twenty-one thousand dollars.

One fortunate seller in area three got an early Christmas gift as competing buyers drove the offer price of their home above list price by $5100. A few more reported a sale price that was greater than the asking price but they were all new homes that had been on the market some time and almost certainly included improvements that were not included with the original asking price. Buyers did well at the gestating table this week as 41 of 47 made off with a discount averaging $14,984.

Here is a breakdown of what the sales to listing price ration looked like on this week’s sales.

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