RSS

Saskatoon real estate week in review: April 27 - May 3, 2014

Saskatoon real estate week in review: April 27 - May 3, 2014
The weather may be refusing to heat up but the Saskatoon real estate market continued to operate above seasonal norms this week as local agents reported 110 firm sales to the multiple listing service®, down just one from last week to top sales for the same period last year by 12. During six of the past seven weeks, Saskatoon home sales have shown a strong year-over-year increase. Year-to-date, the residential category of the Saskatoon MLS® system has recorded sales eight percent over the previous year’s numbers.


If you consider Saskatoon home sales to be strong, you’ve got to agree that listing activity is off the charts. This week saw new annual highs as real estate agents added 218 houses and condominiumsto the MLS® system, an increase of 56 compared to last week to finish ahead of the same week last year by 22 homes. To be fair, this week saw a month end, which typically brings a good handful of expired listings, many of which immediately ended up back on the system as a new listing. Not really new at all, but assigned that status.


Following a week that saw an unusual drop to the total inventory of residential properties available on the multiple listing service®, inventory sharply changed directions and forged its way higher. At the close of the week there were 1422 residential properties showing an active stays on the MLS®, up 31 homes from a week earlier, higher than it was a year ago by 280 properties. At this time last year Saskatoon condo buyers had just 360 units to choose from. Today the numbers have swelled to 444, a 22 percent increase. Meanwhile the inventory of single-family homes has grown to 862 from 704 a year ago, also a 22 percent annual change.


A continued absence of many high end sales kept the median sale price of a Saskatoon home at lower than typical levels this week as it closed at just $324,000. The mix of deals that did include one sale at almost $1.4 million brought the average back to nearly $370,812 for a weekly gain of about $40,000. The six-week median price of a Saskatoon home inched higher by less than two thousand dollars to $352,284 and finished ahead of where it was a year ago by about one thousand dollars. The four-week median price slipped lower losing about five thousand dollars from the close of the previous week. It finished the week at $335,800 to show an annual increase of just $2300. Looking back to previous years, it’s quite typical to see a pretty good run up in prices over March, April and May. That doesn’t appear to be happening this year. Even while demand remains at elevated levels, the number of willing sellers seems to be taking that pressure off of prices.


The number of buyers that found themselves competing for a home and displayed a willingness to pay more than the asking price slipped lower by two to just five this week. The average overbid, however, increased handily to $8,640 thanks to one massive overbid of $31,000 that skewed the average higher. On the flip side of the negotiating table, 93 of this week’s closed deals were reported to have sold below the seller’s asking price by an average of $10,166. The remaining 12 sales closed at the full asking price.


Other notable activity through the Saskatoon multiple listing service® included 48 cancelled and withdrawn listings, 42 expired listings and a whopping 60 price changes.


Highlights from the news this week

Saskatoon’s upper end home sales numbers soften in April: SRAR - TeamFisher.com
The ‘responsible’ Canadian: Why Stephen Poloz sees no housing crash - Globe and Mail
What Google searches reveal about Canada’s housing market - Globe and Mail
Why Regina has seen the steepest home price declines this year- Globe and Mail


Get the most current market intelligence with our FREE Market Snapshot including prices of homes recently sold in your area. Get it here, now.


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 Saskatoon Real Estate

Comments:

No comments

Post Your Comment:

Your email will not be published
The Saskatchewan REALTORS® Association (SRA) IDX Reciprocity listings are displayed in accordance with SRA's MLS® Data Access Agreement and are copyright of the Saskatchewan REALTORS® Association (SRA).
The above information is from sources deemed reliable but should not be relied upon without independent verification. The information presented here is for general interest only, no guarantees apply.
Trademarks are owned and controlled by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA). Used under license.
MLS® System data of the Saskatchewan REALTORS® Association (SRA) displayed on this site is refreshed every 2 hours.