I always appreciate the opportunity to discuss the real estate market with a friend. 

This chat with Joanne Paulson from the Saskatoon Star Phoenix was a lot of fun as we unpacked the unfolding of a pandemic and the record home sale activity that followed.

“Norm Fisher viscerally remembers waking up to the news that the government had declared a state of emergency and a lockdown in March 2020 when COVID-19 invaded Saskatchewan…”

Read the entire story here.

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Follow me on Facebook and Instagram to receive updates on the Saskatoon real estate market and insights I've gained managing thousands of real estate transactions.

TeamFisher.com hosted over 450,000 user sessions in the past year and displayed more than four million pages to our visitors. If you have a Saskatoon area home you'd like to sell, we know how to get people looking at your home. Reach out to me directly to engage our team and learn about our processes.

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 Vidorra

With the release of the Royal LePage House Price Survey yesterday, I appreciated the opportunity to speak with Connor O'Donovan of Global TV.

This story highlights the explosive real estate market activity we saw across the province during the month of June.

Why is this happening "during a pandemic"?

Here's a short video I produced to explain the changes to Canada's mortgage stress test that were announced on February 20, 2020, and take effect in April of 2020. What follows is a Global News story that I had an opportunity to contribute to on the topic.

Global News Story

I'm upping my Facebook and Instagram game. Follow me to receive updates on the Saskatoon real estate market and insights I've gained managing thousands of real estate transactions.

TeamFisher.com hosted nearly a quarter of a million user sessions and displayed more than 1.2 million pages to our visitors in 2019. If you have a Saskatoon area home you'd like to sell, we know how to get people looking at your home. Reach out to me directly to engage our team and learn about our processes.

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

Strong sales in Q4 reinvigorate first-time home-buying segment

SASKATOON, January 9, 2020 -- According to the Royal LePage House Price Survey released today, the aggregate price of a home in Saskatoon decreased 1.0 per cent year-over-year to $368,954 in the fourth quarter of 2019. 

The median price of a standard two-storey home decreased 2.5 per cent year-over-year to $392,517, while the median price of a bungalow increased 1.3 per cent year-over-year to $338,345 during the same period.

“We’re seeing an increased level of interest in entry-level homes; the first-time buyer market has picked up, which skewed median prices downward,” said Norm Fisher, broker, and owner, Royal LePage Vidorra.

Fisher added that increased wages, combined with lower unemployment rates, is increasing consumer confidence.

“Incomes are rising and mortgage delinquencies are now falling,” stated Fisher. “There are strong indicators for an improving Saskatoon housing market in 2020, with modest price gains around one per cent, at best.”

Nationally, the aggregate price of a home in Canada increased by 2.2 per cent year-over-year to $648,544 in the fourth quarter of 2019. Similar to the third quarter, potential buyers are continuing to come back to the real estate market. In the first half of 2019, buyers had remained largely at the sidelines waiting to gauge the potential impact of the federal mortgage stress test.  

“The federal government has signaled that changes could come to the mortgage stress test mechanism in 2020,” said Phil Soper, president, and CEO, Royal LePage. “The stress test pushed people out of real estate markets across Canada temporarily. For the most part, buyers have adjusted, yet it still represents a significant hurdle as families pursue the dream of owning their own home.”

Soper added that the impact of the regulations-driven drop in demand is felt very differently in different parts of the country. 

“We believe policymakers have the necessary experience to modify the tool to meet the reality of today’s Canada - that we have very different and varied economies, and by extension housing policy needs, from region to region,” said Soper.

News Coverage for This Release

CTV Saskatoon - 'Strong Indicators'  that Saskatoon housing market will improve in 2020

GlobalNews - https://globalnews.ca/news/6404383/saskatoons-housing-market-royal-lepage-2019-2020

About the Royal LePage House Price Survey

The Royal LePage National House Price Composite is compiled from proprietary property data in 64 of the nation’s largest real estate markets. When broken out by housing type, the median price of a two-storey home rose 2.3 per cent year-over-year to $761,817, while the median price of a bungalow increased modestly by 0.7 per cent to $537,622. 

For more regional analysis, visit Royal LePage’s media room. The media room also contains royalty-free assets, such as images and b-roll, that are free for media use. 

The Royal LePage House Price Survey provides information on the three most common types of housing in Canada, in 64 of the nation’s largest real estate markets. Housing values in the Royal LePage House Price Survey are based on the Royal LePage Canadian Real Estate Market Composite, produced quarterly through the use of company data in addition to data and analytics from its sister company, RPS Real Property Solutions, the trusted source for residential real estate intelligence and analytics in Canada. Commentary on housing and forecast values are provided by Royal LePage residential real estate experts, based on their opinions and market knowledge.

About Royal LePage

Serving Canadians since 1913, Royal LePage is the country’s leading provider of services to real estate brokerages, with a network of over 18,000 real estate professionals in over 600 locations nationwide. Royal LePage is the only Canadian real estate company to have its own charitable foundation, the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation, dedicated to supporting women’s and children’s shelters and educational programs aimed at ending domestic violence. Royal LePage is a Bridgemarq Real Estate Services Inc. company, a TSX-listed corporation trading under the symbol TSX:BRE. For more information, please visit www.royallepage.ca. 

Norm Fisher, Broker/Owner of Royal LePage Vidorra and Kyle Benning of GlobalNews discuss the impact of "newcomers to Canada" on the local and national real estate markets.

A recently released report from Royal LePage shows that "newcomers to Canada" are behind one in five homes sold across the nation. That number goes to two in five in the Prairie region.

The survey found that 86% of newcomers (anyone who has moved to Canada in the past ten years) see real estate as a good investment and 75% of respondents arrived in Canada with savings to help them purchase a home.

Most typically, these folks settle into a rental home or stay with family initially. On average, those interviewed for this report purchased within three years of arriving in Canada.

At the current rates of immigration, it's expected that newcomers will purchase 680,000 Canadian homes over the next five years, 71,000 within the prairie region.

Read the full report here.

Read also: GlobalNews - 41% of homes bought on the Prairies purchased by new Canadians

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

Affordability of Saskatoon homes sparks demand

Local housing market shifts towards a balanced market

Homebuyer confidence affected by employment uncertainty and increases in home financing costs SASKATOON,

January 11, 2019 – According to the Royal LePage House Price Survey released today, the aggregate price of a home in Saskatoon saw a moderate decrease in the fourth quarter of 2018, decreasing 1.7 per cent year-over-year to $371,486.

When broken out by housing type, the median price of a two-storey home decreased 0.4 per cent year-over-year to $407,286. During the same period, the median price of a bungalow decreased 3.5 per cent year-over-year to $330,663.

“High levels of inventory coupled with a significant decline in demand have led to moderate decreases in the region’s home prices,” said Norm Fisher, Broker and owner, Royal LePage Vidorra.

“The increased costs of financing a home have also contributed to the slowdown in the Saskatoon real estate market. The stress test that came into effect in January of 2018 along with interest rate increases have made it tougher for first-time homebuyers,” added Fisher.

“At the same time, the commodities sector slump continues to weigh down the city’s housing market. As our provincial economy heavily relies on mineral extraction, uncertainty regarding employment in the oil and uranium industries is affecting homebuyers’ confidence.”

Nationally, year-over-year home prices made healthy gains in many regions across Canada in the fourth quarter of 2018. 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 4.0 per cent year-over-year to $631,223 in the fourth quarter of 2018.

When broken out by housing type, the median price of a two-storey home rose 3.9 per cent year-over-year to $745,007, while the median price of a bungalow climbed 1.5 per cent to $516,950. Condominiums continued to see the highest rate of appreciation nationally when compared to the detached segment, rising 7.2 per cent year-over-year to $447,915.

“The invisible hand that guides our complex economy hit the real estate reset button in 2018 and that is a good thing,” said Phil Soper, president and CEO, Royal LePage.

“Major market home price inflation through much of the decade had led to dangerous overheating in our most populous regions. Government regulatory intervention and rising interest rates, when combined with property price overshooting, triggered the correctional cycle we find ourselves working through today.” 

Read also - Global News - Mortgage stress test, higher interest rates affecting Saskatoon's real estate market

Surplus of inventory and low commodity prices contribute to home price depreciation across the region

SASKATOON, January 10, 2018 – According to the Royal LePage House Price Survey1 released today, home prices in Saskatoon saw moderate declines in the final quarter of 2017, with the aggregate price of a home in the region dipping 2.2 per cent year-over-year to $377,222.

When broken out by housing category, the median price of a two-storey home decreased 0.4 per cent year-over-year to $410,819 in the fourth quarter of 2017, while the median price of a bungalow decreased 4.6 per cent to $338,854.

“The decrease in home prices that we saw in Saskatoon in the final quarter of the year comes down to a high level of available inventory, especially in the bungalow segment of the market,” said Norm Fisher, broker and owner, Royal LePage Vidorra.

“In recent months, we have seen a surplus of activity at price points below $350,000 that has boosted the market, but not enough to keep prices from sliding.

“We continue to struggle with low commodity prices. When they are down, our housing market is impacted significantly,” continued Fisher. “We have seen layoffs in the potash and uranium industries, keeping our unemployment rate above the national average. However, we do see improvements on the horizon. Saskatoon has great inventory at an affordable price point for first-time buyers to choose from, providing them with attractive options and time to make an informed decision.”

Nationally, Canada’s residential real estate market saw strong, but slowing year-over-year price growth in the fourth quarter of 2017. The Royal LePage National House Price Composite, compiled from proprietary property data in 53 of the nation’s largest real estate markets, showed that the price of a home in Canada increased 10.8 per cent year-over-year to $626,042 over the three-month period. When broken out by housing type, the median price of a two-storey home rose 11.1 per cent year-over-year to $741,924, and the median price of a bungalow climbed 7.1 per cent to $522,963. During the same period, the median price of a condominium appreciated faster than any other housing type studied, rising 14.3 per cent to $420,823 on a year-over-year basis.

“To prospective homeowners in our largest cities, condominiums represent the last bastion of affordability,” said Phil Soper, president and CEO, Royal LePage.

“This is especially true for first-time buyers whose purchasing power has been reduced by tightening mortgage regulations.”

In line with Royal LePage’s previous Market Survey Forecast, Royal LePage predicts that the price of a home in Canada will increase 4.9 per cent by the end of 2018. Looking ahead, the company anticipates that the new OSFI stress test will slow the housing market in the first half of 2018, as buyers adjust their expectations and many market participants take a “wait and see” approach.

“The unsustainably high rates of home price appreciation witnessed in recent years in B.C. and Ontario were dangerous to the stability of not only the housing market but to the broader economy itself,” continued Soper. “Policy measures like the OSFI stress test will quell runaway housing inflation to an extent. However, we do foresee an upswing in demand in the latter portion of the year, as prospective buyers adjust to the new realities. To put it another way, the demand is still there.” 

Read also: Global News - Housing prices in Saskatoon continue to drop