Saskatoon real estate sales continued to show spring-like results even as we entered the second month of summer. Local REALTORS® reported 88 firm residential trades, down eight from last week and up by four compared to the same week last year.

New listing activity continued on a downward trend to reach its lowest weekly numbers in three months time. New listings have fallen lower during six of the past seven weeks. A total of 132 Saskatoon homes were added to the multiple listing service® over the past week. That’s 30 fewer than were added the previous week and down ten compared to what we saw come on the market over the same period last year.

The week closed with 18 fewer active MLS® listings in the residential category than we had a week ago. As of this morning, there are 1831 Saskatoon homes for sale, down from 2049 at the same time last year. Among them, there are 1139 single-family detached homes, up from 1117 a year ago. All of the losses can be credited to the condo category which sits at 680 units today, down from 805 at the close of the same week last year.

Interestingly, both the condo and single-family categories are now showing a “balanced supply” based on recent sales. This call is typically made by examining “months of inventory”, or stated more clearly, the number of months that it would take to exhaust existing supply based on sales for the previous 30 days.

A supply of four months or less is considered to create “seller’s market” conditions. A supply in the four to six-month range is called a “balanced market” in which neither the buyer or the seller has a distinct advantage. A supply greater than six months is considered to create a buyer’s market. 

Here’s how current inventory looks, relative to sales in each of these categories.

Single-family detached homes

1131 active listings with sales of 246 in the past 30 days. 

1131/246 = 4.6 month supply. 

Condominiums

680 active listings with sales of 114 in the past 30 days. 

680/114 = 5.96 month supply (into the balanced arena, though marginally)

Entry-level buyers came back to the market this week after showing little interest over the two previous weeks. A flurry of activity that included 13 condominium sales at prices below $200,000 helped bring the weekly median sale price back to earth. It was $318,750 this week, down almost 20K from the week before. Still, the average sale price for the week managed to make some gains again as it increased 10K from the week before to reach $341,092.

The six-week average price moved higher again to create what now looks like a seven-week trend. It came in at $340,441 to record a modest gain over the previous week of about two thousand dollars and finished the week up nearly four thousand annually. Meanwhile, the burst of entry-level activity that we saw this week contributed to a falling four-week median. It lost nearly 20 this week to settle at $319,000 and finished lower than it did a year earlier by seven thousand dollars.

Overbidding activity was weak as just two sellers closed a deal with an above list price offer. One of the two homes that were the subject of bidding enthusiasm sold $100 above list while the other claimed a 10K bonus. Meanwhile, 79 of the week’s 88 sales reported a price that was, on average, $12,854 below the list price of the home.

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.

More weekly stats and numbers for those who love them. 

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

I’m always happy to answer your Saskatoon real estate questions.  Reach out by voice or text at 306-241-6676 or email me at norm at teamfisher.com

Norm Fisher

Royal LePage Vidorra

It was a strong sales week for Saskatoon homes. Local REALTORS® reported 93 firm residential trades to the multiple listing service®, up 24 units compared to last week, and three sales more than were recorded over the same period last year.

New listing activity fell modestly lower to 168 units for a weekly decline of four and an annual drop of eight.

Listing inventory slipped lower after taking a small increase last week. This morning, there were 1949 Saskatoon homes showing an active status on the multiple listing service, down just 11 from last week’s close, and lower on an annual basis by 103 properties. In the mix were 1146 single-family homes, a number that is above levels recorded a year ago by 22,  and 698 condos, down from 821 at the close of the same week last year.

For the second week in a row, activity at the lower end of the Saskatoon real estate market was relatively soft while sales above the quarter-million-dollar mark were solid. This pushed the weekly median price up by nearly 25K to $338,500. At the same time, the weekly average sale price was sharply lower for the week as it fell 22K to $330,115 thanks to the fact that nobody bought a million dollar plus home. That happened twice the previous week.

Looking at Saskatoon home prices over a slightly longer term, the six-week average price closed the week at $338,552. That’s a loss of about a thousand dollars from last week but it’s up roughly five grand from a year ago. The four-week median price spiked higher by more than 14K for the week. It reached $338,500 for an annual increase of $6,650.

Three Saskatoon home buyers closed a deal with an above list price offer. The average overbid was $5,736. Meanwhile, 86 of the week’s 96 sales closed below the asking price and generated an average discount of $11,368.

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.

More weekly stats and numbers for those who love them. 

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

I’m always happy to answer your Saskatoon real estate questions.  Reach out by voice or text at 306-241-6676 or email me at norm at teamfisher.com

Norm Fisher

Royal LePage Vidorra

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

According to the report, "Home sales recorded via Canadian MLS® Systems were little changed in June 2019 following a string of monthly gains recorded in March, April, and May. Although running close to its 10-year average and up nearly 10% from the six-year low reached in February 2019, activity remains well below levels recorded over much of 2015, 2016 and 2017."

“There’s a growing divergence in Canadian housing market trends between eastern and western Canada,” said Gregory Klump, CREA’s Chief Economist. “While sales activity in Canada’s three westernmost provinces appears to have stopped deteriorating, it will be some time before supply and demand there becomes better balanced and the outlook for home prices improves.”

Highlights of CREA's report

• National home sales edged back 0.2% month-over-month (m-o-m) in June.
• Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity ticked up 0.3% year-over-year (y-o-y).
• The number of newly listed homes rose 0.8% m-o-m.
• The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) climbed 0.3% m-o-m in June but was down 0.3% y-o-y.

• The actual (not seasonally adjusted) national average sale price was up 1.7% y-o-y.

Read the entire report on Canadian MLS® sales for June 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

Saskatoon real estate sales softened again for the second week in a row as local REALTORS® reported just 72 firm residential deals to the multiple listing service®. That number leaves us down from the previous week by six, and short of sales reported over the same period last year by 16.

New listing activity also slipped lower falling from 188 for the previous period to 172 this week, and up by five compared to the same week last year.

The total number of active residential Saskatoon real estate listings available on the MLS® moved higher to 1960 for a weekly gain of 28 and an annual decline of 110. This is the 24th consecutive week in which active listings were at a five year low for the close of each particular week.

As of this morning, buyers can find 1153 Saskatoon houses for sale, 20 more than were available at last week’s close, and up 34 from the same time last year. Condo inventory also inched higher this week as it grew by 12 to hit 698, well down from 827 a year earlier.

The number of Saskatoon homes that traded at a price below 200K was down by nearly 50 percent this week which helped push the weekly median price higher by twenty thousand dollars to $315,000. That change also contributed to a big increase in the weekly average price as it grew by almost 20K to reach $352,680.

The six-week average price took its third consecutive gain as it grew to $339,432, up about three thousand dollars from last week for an annual increase of just under 5K. The four-week median price held firm at $317,500 for the second week to finish down annually by $2500.

When the dealing was wrapped up for the week, four sellers got their price and one got a modest overbid of $100. Meanwhile, 67 of 72 sales closed below the asking price with an average discount of $13,629.

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.

More weekly stats and numbers for those who love them. 

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

I’m always happy to answer your Saskatoon real estate questions.  Reach out by voice or text at 306-241-6676 or email me at norm at teamfisher.com

Norm Fisher

Royal LePage Vidorra

SASKATOON, July 10, 2019 -- The aggregate price of a home in Saskatoon continued to show declines in the second quarter of 2019, decreasing 2.6 percent year-over-year to $359,895, according to the Royal LePage House Price Survey released today.

During the second quarter, the median price of a two-storey home decreased by 3.0 percent year-over-year to $388,470. At the same time, the median price of a bungalow decreased 2.2 percent year-over-year to $327,325.

“What happened behind the scenes this spring is that we saw demand was up nine percent year-to-date compared to last year and that’s a really strong growth number,” said Matt Miller, broker, and owner, Royal LePage Saskatoon Real Estate. “We are moving from a buyer’s market into a more balanced one.”

Miller predicts prices to remain relatively flat in the next quarter, with perhaps some small increases. Home buyers should continue to benefit from low-interest rates and the adjustment in regional sale prices. He stated the effects of the OFSI mortgage stress test are still being felt.

“If you look at the Saskatoon real estate market, the contraction mirrors what is happening in the economy and it is similar to other commodity-dependent regions,” stated Miller.

The Royal LePage National House Price Composite, compiled from proprietary property data in 63 of the nation’s largest real estate markets, showed that the price of a home in Canada increased 1.1 percent year-over-year to $621,696 in the second quarter of 2019. When broken out by housing type, the median price of a two-storey home rose 1.0 percent year-over-year to $727,165, while the median price of a bungalow dipped 0.4 percent year-over-year to $516,048. Condominiums remained the fastest growing housing type on a national basis, with its median price rising 3.8 percent year-over-year to $452,451.

“We now have evidence of a sustained market recovery in the nation’s largest market, and signs of a price floor in other regions hit hard by the eighteen-month-old housing correction,” said Phil Soper, president and CEO, Royal LePage. “Only in the West do we see a significant number of home buyers remaining on the sidelines, depressing sales volumes and causing prices to sag. Buoyed by supportive economic conditions, many stubborn homeowners in B.C. and Alberta remain unwilling to let their precious real estate go for less than what they perceive as fair value, which has gone a long way to protecting existing home values.”

Royal LePage expects national home prices to see a modest uptick by the end of the year, rising 0.4 percent compared to the end of 2018. 

Following a couple of banner weeks, Saskatoon real estate agents reported just 78 residential sales to the multiple listing service®, a drop of 24 from the week before to fall short of sales recorded during the same period last year by three.

New listing numbers moved in the opposite direction as 188 Saskatoon homes were added to the MLS® database. That number brings a weekly increase of 21 and an annual gain of eight.

Residential listings that show an “active” status on the Saskatoon MLS® system fell lower for the third consecutive week, this time falling by 29 units to finish the week lower on an annual basis by 124 homes. Total MLS® inventory has been maintaining five-year lows for each respective week since the end of January, with the last few weeks showing the largest annual losses we’ve seen since early spring.

The number of single-family homes for sale in the city grew by 11 compared to last week’s close to 1,133. That finish is higher on a year-over-year basis by just 17. Condo inventory fell by 41 from a week earlier to close this period at 686, which is 130 units below levels recorded at the close of the same week last year.

With 20 homes sales reporting a sale price under 200K (15 of them entry-level condos), the weekly median price of a Saskatoon home tumbled lower to just $295,000. That’s down almost $50,000 from last week when buyers in the $500,000 price category showed up in big numbers. Entry level activity was so strong this week that the average price also fell sharply. It dropped about 32K to $333,406 in spite of the fact that two sales above one-million dollars skewed the measure higher.

The six-week average price of a Saskatoon home grew for the third week in a row to reach $336,462. That’s higher than it was a year ago by $14,000 but we’re looking back on a week that had taken a strange dip to rebound the following week. Meanwhile, the four-week median price saw its third consecutive weekly decline and finished the period at $317,500. That’s down $2500 from the close of the same week last year.

Three sellers closed a deal with a buyer willing to pay more than asking price. Those discounts averaged $5,267 thanks to one buyer who made a five-figure overbid to beat out competing buyers. On the flip side, 71 buyers stood firm and ground a deal that netted them a discount average $13,480.

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.

More weekly stats and numbers for those who love them. 

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

I’m always happy to answer your Saskatoon real estate questions.  Reach out by voice or text at 306-241-6676 or email me at norm at teamfisher.com

Norm Fisher

Royal LePage Vidorra

The Saskatoon Region Association of Realtors® released the official numbers for June 2019 yesterday, along with the following media release.

The stronger residential housing market that began in March continued into June, as Saskatoon Realtors® sold 372 homes for a dollar volume of just under $126 million, the Saskatoon Region Association of REALTORS® (SRAR) reported Friday. 

Sales were up six percent from last June’s 350, while the combined value rose nine percent from $116 million.  

Buyers also had fewer listings to choose from, as 784 units were added to the city’s market, down 10 percent from last year’s 871 and well down from the previous year’s 949. 

“Fewer listings and a renewed interest from first-time home buyers have helped support the Saskatoon market,” said SRAR CEO Jason Yochim. “We’re in a fairly balanced market, as demonstrated by a sales-to-listing ratio of 47 percent.” 

A buyer’s market is indicated by a ratio of under 40 percent, while a seller’s market ratio begins at 60 percent. 

Year-to-date, local agents have listed 4,206 homes, down five percent from last year’s 4,407 and also down from 2017’s 5,004. In that time, 1,840 homes have sold, up nine percent from 2018’s 1,691. The dollar volume rose eight percent to $610 million from $564.7 million. 

Similar numbers were posted in Saskatoon and region, which includes neighbouring towns and cities such as Warman, Martensville, and Dalmeny. Listings fell five percent to 1,232 in June from 1,291 in the same month of 2018, while sales were up three percent to 490 from 474. Dollar volume was up seven percent to $169.5 million from $157.8 million. 

Year-to-date, Saskatoon and region have seen 6,586 homes listed, down three percent from 6,765, and sales of 2,489, up eight percent from 2,310, for a value of $810 million. That number is up six percent from last year’s $768 million. 

In the region alone, 96 homes sold last month, down seven percent from the previous June’s 103, although year-to-date sales are up five percent to 517, up from 491. Dollar volume was down one percent to $31 million from $31.3 million. Listings were up 10 percent in June to 325 but were almost even year-to-date at 1,668. 

The average sales price rose six percent in Saskatoon and region to $323,291 in June, up from $304,449. However, the year-to-date average price remains down seven percent at $292,039. (Norm’s note: the average sale price of a Saskatoon home rose roughly five thousand dollars, year-over-year to reach $338,499. Meanwhile, prices for each of the three major categories of Saskatoon housing, as tracked on the MLS® Home Price Index remained lower on an annual basis in spite of a rally that drove prices higher over the second quarter).

“I think we’re seeing a renewed confidence in the market, while prices are coming down in some categories,” Yochim said. “There may also be some pent-up demand. Prudent buyers are sensing that this is the time to buy in this market.” SRAR, which encompasses Prince Albert, the Battlefords and other north-central communities under its reporting umbrella, reported both lower sales and listings in those markets.

Jason Yochim, CEO

Saskatoon Region Association of Realtors®