Saskatoon home prices remain steady: Royal LePage

The Royal LePage House Price Survey for the second quarter of 2011 has just been released. Here is the media release for the Saskatoon area.

Second-quarter house prices in Saskatoon experienced little change over the same period last year, according to the Royal LePage House Price Survey released today. Second quarter sales volumes remain stable because of increases in higher end single-family home sales and healthy competition for buyers in other categories.

Detached bungalow prices showed no change, selling for a second quarter average of $331,250. Standard condominiums sold for an average price of $242,000 – a year-over-year gain of 3.9 per cent. Prices for standard two-storey homes fell slightly by 0.5 per cent, selling for a second quarter average of $353,750.

Overall, Saskatoon’s flat price changes conceal a varied market performance for some housing types. As entry-level properties reached an affordability ceiling, upper-end properties witnessed a surge in the number of sales recorded.

“Saskatoon saw a 46 per cent increase in sales of single-family homes in the $500,000 plus market while other housing types such as standard condominiums witnessed a considerable drop in sales,” says Norm Fisher, Royal LePage Saskatoon Real Estate.

Inventories remain higher than normal across all housing categories and an increase in competition to attract buyers is helping to maintain price stability overall.

“We’re seeing a drop-off in the entry-level buyers as a result of new mortgage rules and affordability though more executives and expanding families are keeping the market strong,” explained Fisher.

Nationally, the residential real estate market saw sizable year-over-year price increases in the second quarter of 2011, but high house prices are concealing early signs of a moderating market. The market has seen its near-term peak in house price appreciation, and a slower second half of the year is expected. Still, by the end of 2011, the national average house price is expected to be 7.7 per cent higher than it was at the end of 2010.

“In many of Canada’s regional markets, we saw house prices appreciate at a significantly faster rate than wages and salaries, and this trend cannot continue indefinitely,” observed Phil Soper, president and chief executive, Royal LePage Real Estate Services. “We expect price gains to moderate considerably in the latter half of 2011, which should reduce the stress associated with purchasing a new home,” Soper said.

Average house prices in Canada continued to rise in the second quarter across housing types surveyed. The national average price of a detached bungalow rose 7.5 per cent year-over-year to $356,625; the price of a standard two-storey home rose 6.1 per cent to $390,163; and the price of a standard condominium rose 3.5 per cent to $238,064.

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