Dollar volume and unit sales for the Saskatoon real estate market saw a 13 percent year-over-year increase in August. At the end of July, the year-to-date dollar volume was 10 percent lower than it was in 2015. The recent activity in August has helped to improve that to only a four percent decrease.
Dollar volume for Saskatoon and surrounding area trades was up significantly month-over-month in August with a 38 percent increase, a record for August. The total dollar volume was just over $210M this past month eclipsing the next best August performance which was in 2013 at $180M.
Unit sales year-to-date in Saskatoon are at 2,614, a seven percent reduction from 2,811 units that had sold by the end of August, 2015. Jason Yochim, CEO with the Saskatoon Region Association of REALTORS® is encouraged by this recent improvement in activity.
"To put it in perspective, this is a difference of less than 200 units for the year or 24 home sales a month." The 373 sales in August is slightly higher than the five-year average and is comparable to activity recorded in 2012 and 2013. "A levelling of new listings introduced to the market, combined with an increase in sales is slowly helping to reduce historically high inventory levels," he adds.
Currently, there are 1,956 active listings in Saskatoon The five-year average is 1,634 units.
The total number of units listed for sale in Saskatoon year-to-date was 6,694, a four percent reduction, or 291 fewer units for the first eight months of the year. New construction has also seen a decline in housing starts, especially in the multi-family market. This will also help to reduce inventory levels as many of these new homes are listed with a professional REALTOR® prior to or on completion.
The average number of days to sell a home in Saskatoon is currently 47 with a sale price of 97.2 percent of the list price.
"I think sellers are beginning to recognize that pricing to the market will sell their home in a reasonable time and for close to their asking price," comments Yochim. "I think that is playing a role in more units selling in August."
The average sale price is continuing to hold fairly steady at $352,000 while the median price is currently $335,000. The Composite Home Price Index (HPI) published by the Canadian Real Estate Association, measures the rate of change in home values for a period of time. It is considered to be the most accurate barometer of market conditions. The HPI works similar to the Consumer Price Index in that it starts with a typical home value and a base year and measures changes in the value over time. For August, the index was at 231.9 down slightly from a year earlier. This indicates that pricing is remaining stable for the most part.
Jason Yochim CAE, CRAE
Chief Executive Officer - Saskatoon Region Association of REALTORS®
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