The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) recently released national sales statistics for August 2024.

National home sales increased in June following the Bank of Canada’s first interest rate cut since 2020, and activity posted another small gain in August on the heels of the second rate cut in late July, but the bigger picture appears to be a market mostly stuck in a holding pattern.

“Despite some fledgling signs of life to kick off the long-awaited monetary policy easing cycle, Canadian housing market activity still looks to be stuck in the same holding pattern it’s been in all year,” said Shaun Cathcart, CREA’sSenior Economist. “That said, with ever more friendly interest rates now all but guaranteed later this year and into 2025, it makes sense that prospective buyers might continue to hold off for improved affordability, especially since prices are still well-behaved in most of the country.”

Highlights of this report:

•              National home sales edged up 1.3% month-over-month in August.

•              Actual (not seasonally adjusted) monthly activity came in 2.1% below August 2023.

•              The number of newly listed properties ticked up 1.1% month-over-month.

•              The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) was unchanged month-over-month but was down 3.9% year-over-year.

•              The actual (not seasonally adjusted) national average sale price was almost unchanged (+0.1%) on a year-over-year basis in August.

Read the recently released national sales statistics for August of 2024.

LAST UPDATED IN JUNE - Read also: CREA’s Residential Market Forecast.

I’m always happy to answer your Saskatoon real estate questions.  Reach out by voice or text at 306-900-4161 or email me at norm at teamfisher.com

Norm Fisher

Royal LePage Saskatoon Real Estate

Saskatoon home sales took a downward dip in August falling by 63 units when compared to July’s impressive numbers. When the dust settled at the close of the month, 457 residential properties had changed hands, down a substantial 13 percent from the same month last year. Home sales for the local area remain higher on an annual basis by five percent.

Sales in the single-family homes category fell from 309 last August to 258 while the number of condos to sell slipped lower from 189 last year to 163.

For the second consecutive month, the number of new listings added to the MLS® grew, which is somewhat unusual at this time of the year. Saskatoon real estate agents added 719 residential properties to the database, up just a touch from 711 in July, and higher by 61 when compared to the new listings numbers from August of last year.

Softening sales and stronger new listings allowed the inventory of active listings on the multiple listing service® to grow to its highest point since September of last year. As the month drew to a close, there were 914 Saskatoon homes for sale, up 80 units from July, but lower than it was last year at this time when there were 1000 options for local buyers.

Months of supply grew from 1.6 last month to 2.0 In August, which while improved is still very firmly in seller’s market territory. Again, supply levels of less than four months signal a seller’s market. A supply of four to six months is considered balanced. A supply larger than six months would be a buyer’s market.

After reaching a new record high in July which led to a swift upward spike on our graph, the average sale price of a Saskatoon home headed lower and reported its lowest number since early this year at $389,684. This particular measure can tend to be a bit all over the place. Over time, it can trend one way or the other, but the sale of a handful of luxury homes can skew it higher, just as an absence can skew it lower.

The benchmark price of a single-family home as recorded on the MLS® Home Price Index saw a softer downward shift as it came down $3300 from last month to settle at $463,400 to take a ten percent annual increase.

Townhomes continued to move higher reaching $334,500 for a monthly increase of $2000 and an annual gain of ten percent.

Once again, apartment prices grew the most picking up $6100 from last month to reach $242,900 and claim an annual increase of 14 percent.

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Royal LePage Saskatoon Real Estate