Please note that many of the association’s comments touch on “year-to-date” numbers, and some are based on all sales within the board’s trading area. The charts which you see, as always, reflect activity within the city of Saskatoon on a month to month basis over the past several years.
June saw an eight percent increase in sales compared to last year. June is only the second month in 2013 with a positive increase over the same month the previous year. With a total of 2,893 transactions recorded so far in 2013, sales are still down three percent year-to-date. "Year-to-date sales activity continues to be strongest over $450,000 with a 28 percent increase in sales between $500,000 and $750,000 and a 45 percent increase in sales above $750,000." says Jason Yochim, Executive Officer of the Saskatoon Region Association of REALTORS®. "The $300,000 to $350,000 range continues to see the greatest activity with 512 sales year-to-date, however this is down eight percent from last year."
City wide, the average home price continued its upward trend with a five percent increase to $348,000. According to Yochim, "The average price takes an average of all sales and is not an accurate reflection of what is happening in specific markets within the city of Saskatoon. The Home Price Index (HPI) is a more accurate indicator of indexed price changes within an area, specific neighborhood or type of property." The west side of Saskatoon which includes neighborhoods such as Caswell, Mount Royal, Pleasant Hill and Riversdale, saw the greatest percentage change at 6.38 percent. The neighborhoods which saw the smallest change in value were those west of the Circle Drive freeway at 3.34 percent. "With the HPI, our members are able to provide their clients with accurate data specific to their style of home and neighborhood which indicates how the market is trending for those properties."
The number of days required for a home to sell on average was 40 in Saskatoon. This represents a significant change compared to May where a home would sell in 27 days on average. The neighborhoods east of circle drive took the longest to sell on average at 48 days.
Overall the outlook remains strong for Saskatoon with a balanced real estate market. Saskatoon's modest but steady increase in values and activity insulates it from the dramatic price corrections experienced by some major Canadian cities.
I’m always happy to answer your Saskatoon real estate questions. All of my contact info is here. Please feel free to call of email me.
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Norm Fisher
Royal LePage Saskatoon Real Estate