The residential side of the Saskatoon real estate market posted its biggest sales week for the calendar year as completed transactions that may have been recorded Good Friday, had the MLS® not been closed for the holiday, added to the week’s numbers. A total of 93 Saskatoon homes traded hands for a weekly increase of 13, and an annual gain of three.

Meanwhile, new listing activity slowed substantially. Local agents brought just 134 new listings into the multiple listing service® which is down 40 units from the week before, and 21 fewer homes than were offered for sale the same week last year.

Sales

Active listing numbers fell slightly from 1773 a week ago to 1763 by Saturday morning. At the close of the previous week inventory had come within 25 units of matching last year’s number, which was the smallest year-over-year decline in about five months. This week, the gap grew just a bit. When business wrapped up for the same period last year, available MLS® listing had reached 1801.

Today’s totals include 967 single-family homes, which is a 27 unit increase from a year ago. Condominium inventory fell lower this week to 691 for an annual decline of 78 units, a ten percent drop from levels recorded a year ago.

Active

You may recall that upper end buyers showed up in a fairly big way last week. That continued through this period and the median sale price of a Saskatoon home edged higher to $346,000, even as the average weekly price fell by 10K to $351,605. The six-week average price took its fourth consecutive weekly increase to reach $334,167. That is up less than a thousand dollars from the close of the same week last year, and its highest point on the graph for 2019. The four-week median price continued an upward roll to grow by seven thousand dollars weekly. It closed the week at $333,250 to claim an annual increase of more than thirteen thousand dollars.

Price

This week’s sales mix included four resale properties that sold for more than the asking price. While the average bonus paid amounted to $1350, the majority of that came from one sale that was reportedly completed at a price that was $5100 above the seller’s asking price. The other three buyers overbid by a modest $100 to close on the house they wanted to buy. Meanwhile, 84 of the week’s 93 sales were reported to have sold below the asking price at a discount averaging $13,233.

Here is a breakdown of what the sales to listing price ratio looked like on this week’s sales. Please note that those sales that do show a sale price that is greater than the list price are all new properties that spent some period of time on the market, and most likely included additional improvements that were not reflected in the original list price. We report these to you as “at list price sales”, which is likely too generous in some cases, but it’s simply not practical to obtain the full details of each sale.

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More weekly stats and numbers for those who love them.

General

Thank-you for reading TeamFisher’s Saskatoon Real Estate Week in Review.

I’m always happy to answer your Saskatoon real estate questions.  Please feel free to call or text me at 306-241-6676 or reach me by email at norm at teamfisher dot com.

Norm Fisher

Royal LePage Vidorra

Saskatoon home sales took a modest dip this week with Friday’s closure of the MLS® system shortening the work week. Local agents reported 80 firm residential sales, a drop of seven from the previous week, and up by five when compared to the same week last year.

New listing activity continued to be strong as 174 Saskatoon homes were added to the multiple listing service®. That number is down 16 compared to activity reported the week before and even with listings generated over the same period last year.

Sales

Active listing numbers continued to grow at a more rapid pace than they did in 2018. After the overnight expired listings were removed from the mix, 1773 Saskatoon homes were showing an active status on the system. That is up 63 units from the previous week’s close and just 25 properties shy of levels recorded at the close of the same week a year ago. The trend of rapid growth to Saskatoon’s MLS® listing numbers suggests that we may be talking about year-over-year gains next week for the first time since October of last year when listing numbers started to trend lower. Single-family homes inventory sits at 970 today, up nearly 30 from a week ago, a 21 higher than last year. Condo inventory is at 694 for an annual drop of 61 homes.

Actives

Upper end real estate buyers showed up this past week and drove both the weekly median price and the weekly average higher to $340,000 and $361,118 respectively. The longer term measures followed along. The six-week average price grew nearly eight thousand dollars from last week but still closed lower than it was a year ago by roughly nine thousand dollars. Meanwhile, the four-week median price jumped 16K compared to the previous week and reached $326,250 to find itself up annually by just over six thousand dollars.

Price

A couple of lucky sellers managed to find their home the subject of a bidding war. Those two deals netted the seller an average bonus of $2,600 more than their asking price. On the flip side of the negotiating table, 67 Saskatoon home buyers made off with a discount that averaged $13,540.

Here is a breakdown of what the sales to listing price ratio looked like on this week’s sales. Please note that those sales that do show a sale price that is greater than the list price are all new properties that spent some period of time on the market, and most likely included additional improvements that were not reflected in the original list price. We report these to you as “at list price sales”, which is likely too generous in some cases, but it’s simply not practical to obtain the full details of each sale.

List

More weekly stats and numbers for those who love them.

General

Thank-you for reading TeamFisher’s Saskatoon Real Estate Week in Review.

Thank-you for reading TeamFisher’s Saskatoon Real Estate Week in Review.

I’m always happy to answer your Saskatoon real estate questions.  Please feel free to call or text me at 306-241-6676 or reach me by email at norm at teamfisher dot com.

Norm Fisher

Royal LePage Vidorra

The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), recently released national sales statistics for March of 2019.

According to the report, "Home sales via Canadian MLS® Systems edged up 0.9% in March 2019 following a sharp drop in February, leaving activity near some of the lowest levels recorded in the last six years."

There was an even split between the number of markets where sales rose from the previous month and those where they waned. Among Canada’s larger cities, activity improved in Victoria, the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), Oakville-Milton and Ottawa, whereas it declined in Greater Vancouver, Edmonton, Regina, Saskatoon, London and St. Thomas, Sudbury and Quebec City."

Highlights of CREA's report

• National home sales edged up 0.9% month-over-month (m-o-m) in March.
• The number of newly listed homes rose 2.1% m-o-m.
• The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) eased by 0.5% y-o-y in March.

• The national average sale price fell 1.8% y-o-y.

Read the entire report on Canadian MLS® sales for March 2019.

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 recorded its highest volume week this year as 87 firm residential sales were reported to the MLS®. That number is up 13 from last week and also beats sales for the same period last year by 11 units.

The number of new listings added to the database of the multiple listing service® remained high as 195 Saskatoon home owners offered their home for sale, down four from the previous week, and up four annually.

Sales

The number of Saskatoon homes for sale on the MLS® system continued to grow and cracked the 1700 mark for the first time since December. This morning, there were 1710 homes showing an active status within the city of Saskatoon, up 54 from last week’s close, and down just 40 from levels recorded last year at this time. In recent weeks, the gap between last year’s inventory numbers and this year’s has been slowly closing. Condo inventory is at 672 today, down 50  from a year ago. The number of single-family homes for sale in the city grew by 40 this week to reach 941. That was high enough to top numbers reported at the close of the same week last year by six.

Actives

The weekly median price of a Saskatoon home grew by fifteen hundred dollars to reach $323,000 while the average price fell to $327,828. The six-week average price continued on its downward trend, this week falling modestly to $320,793 and finishing nearly 12K shy of levels recorded at this time last year. The four-week median price was unchanged from last week at $310,000 but down annually by ninety-five hundred dollars.

Price

There was not a single resale transaction that reported a price above the seller’s asking price this past week. Meanwhile, 78 sales showed an average discount of $12,474 when the results of these sales were recorded on the MLS®.

Here is a breakdown of what the sales to listing price ratio looked like on this week’s sales. Please note that those sales that do show a sale price that is greater than the list price are all new properties that spent some period of time on the market, and most likely included additional improvements that were not reflected in the original list price. We report these to you as “at list price sales”, which is likely too generous in some cases, but it’s simply not practical to obtain the full details of each sale.

List

More weekly stats and numbers for those who love them.

General

Thank-you for reading TeamFisher’s Saskatoon Real Estate Week in Review.

I’m always happy to answer your Saskatoon real estate questions.  Please feel free to call or text me at 306-241-6676 or reach me by email at norm at teamfisher dot com.

Norm Fisher

Royal LePage Vidorra

Following four consecutive weeks of sales growth, Saskatoon homes sales slipped lower to 74 this past week, down from 79 the week before. That tally falls short of numbers generated during the same week of 2018 by three.

Meanwhile, new listings were through the roof as Saskatoon real estate agents pushed 199 properties to the MLS®, up 49 from last week, and about even with the same period last year. A good chunk of those were listings that had expired at the close of March.

Sales

The MLS® inventory of Saskatoon homes for sale jumped from 1600 at the close of the previous week to 1656 today. While still lower than they were at this time last year when there were 1722 properties for sale within city limits, today’s numbers produce the smallest year-over-year decline to the inventory for any week this year. Week by week that decline seems to be slipping away.

Today we have 901 single-family homes for sale, down from 912 at this time last year. There are currently 663 condominiums showing an active status, down from 716 a year ago.

Active

More upper end housing activity pushed the median price slightly higher this week to $321,500. The average sale price of a Saskatoon home grew even more to $335,836. The six-week average price inched up to $322,611 for a weekly increase of a few hundred dollars and an annual loss amounting to nearly twelve thousand dollars. The four-week median price fell lower for the third consecutive week to settle at $310,000. That amounts to a weekly decline of less than two thousand dollars and an annual decline of 10K.

Prices

There were two overbid sales reported this week, one at just $100 more than the seller’s asking price, the other paying a bonus of $25K. Meanwhile, 66 of this week’s sales went below the list price by an average of $12,026.

Here is a breakdown of what the sales to listing price ratio looked like on this week’s sales. Please note that those sales that do show a sale price that is greater than the list price are all new properties that spent some period of time on the market, and most likely included additional improvements that were not reflected in the original list price. We report these to you as “at list price sales”, which is likely too generous in some cases, but it’s simply not practical to obtain the full details of each sale.

List

More weekly stats and numbers for those who love them.

General

Thank-you for reading TeamFisher’s Saskatoon Real Estate Week in Review.

I’m always happy to answer your Saskatoon real estate questions.  Please feel free to call or text me at 306-241-6676 or reach me by email at norm at teamfisher dot com.

Norm Fisher

Royal LePage Vidorra

After a fairly strong February, the city of Saskatoon’s March housing market had spring in its step as both new listings and sales rose over last year, by five and 11 per cent respectively.

The Saskatoon Region Association of REALTORS® (SRAR) reported 702 listings were posted to the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®), up from 668 last March, but significantly down from 850 in 2017.

Sales jumped 11 per cent to 258, up from 233 last year but down from 308 in March 2017.

At the same time, the average selling price dropped four per cent to $316,445, down from just over $328,000 a year earlier, partly due to a higher proportion of entry-level home sales below $400,000. There was also a significant decrease in the number of sales recorded between $400,000 and $450,000. Even so, the dollar volume of homes sold increased seven per cent to just over $81.6 million, up from $76.5 million a year earlier.

“We’re coming into the spring market, and the degradation of prices over the last three year has made it a little more attractive out there. People do get a little bit more optimistic in the spring,” said Jason Yochim, CEO of SRAR.

“Some of that optimism may have sprung from the federal government’s recent policy announcement regarding changes to home buyers’ plan, which provides a five per cent interest-free loan on existing homes, and 10 per cent on new homes, to first-time buyers. Our industry has been lobbying for changes such as this for a long time.”

The Saskatoon Region, which includes smaller communities in the Census Metropolitan Area, saw a five per cent increase in listings, to 1,084 (up from 1,034 in 2017) and a four per cent increase in monthly sales, to 359 (up from 345). Listings generally begin to trend upward as March, and spring, approach.

Excluding Saskatoon, regional listings were flat with last March and sales fell nine per cent to 77, down from 85. The selling price dropped 12 per cent to $275,000. In 2019 so far, Saskatoon and region listings, taken together, are down two per cent to 2,675, 1,736 of those in the city proper. Sales are up two per cent to 929, up from 909 in 2018, and dollar volume has fallen one per cent to $213 million, down from $215.5 million. Active listings sat at 3,184 at the end of March, down one per cent, with 1,611 of those in Saskatoon, down four per cent.

While the 2019 market has been kinder to home sellers than in the last three years, it remains important to price properties appropriately to present conditions, said Yochim. The sales to listings ratio was 37 per cent in March, which still signifies a buyers’ market.

“Home sellers, not to mention buyers, can benefit from the knowledge a REALTOR® brings to a housing transaction. REALTORS® know how to help a seller arrive at a realistic price, and they are also professionals who subscribe to a strict code of ethics. They can guide sellers, and buyers, through the process, and help them make the best decisions.”

OTHER REGIONS

The spring market has had a slower start in Prince Albert and region, where listings rose four percent to 128 (from 123 last March) and sales fell 10 per cent to 38, down from 42. Dollar volume was down 29 per cent to $6.7 million, from $9.5 million in the same month of 2018. However, the statistics tend to appear more dramatic to the smaller size of the market.

It was a similar story in The Battlefords region, where listings rose five per cent to 120 units, up from 114 a year ago, and sales fell three per cent to 32. However, that was a drop of just one unit from last year’s 33 sales. Dollar volume fell 37 per cent to $4.5 million from just over $7 million. The region did, however, see an increase in the average price of four per cent to $188,000. Dollar volume was down 22 per cent to $4.5 million.

“The market is considerably more challenged in smaller cities. Saskatoon hasn’t been affected as much on sales activity because of our diversified economy.”

Jason Yochim, CEO, SRAR