Saskatoon real estate week in review: December 8-14, 2013

Saskatoon real estate sales slipped lower for the fourth consecutive week, as they most often do at this time of the year. Local agents reported just 42 house and condo sales to the MLS® system this week, down three from last week to fall short of sales recorded during the same week last yearby two.

New MLS® listings(condos and houses) also slipped lower falling to 95 from 108 last week. While down from the previous week, new listing numbers were still well up on totals for the same week in 2012 when 72 Saskatoon homes hit the multiple listing service®.

Weakened unit sales and heightened listing activity saw the total inventory of active property listings available on the Saskatoon multiple listing service® increase at a time that declines can pretty much always be counted on. As of this morning, Saskatoon home buyers have 1208 MLS® listings to choose from. That’s up from the close of the previous week by 22 homes and up from this date last year by just over 200 properties. Today, there are 740 single-family homes available compared to just 608 a year ago. Active condo listings sit at 351, up from just 301 at this time in 2012.

A greater amount of activity at the upper end of the Saskatoon real estate market saw the median price paid for a Saskatoon home surge higher by about fifty thousand dollars this week to $365,500. Still, the average selling price for the week was hardly impacted as it moved higher by roughly two thousand dollars to $346,790. The longer term measures were very stable with the six-week average slipping lower by just five hundred dollars to $346,758 to close ahead of where it was at this time last year by just over two thousand dollars. The four-week median was steady for the third week in a row at $319,920 for a year-over-year decline of close to seventeen thousand dollars. Over the past few weeks prices appear to be about where they were in December of last year.

Overbid sales were nearly non-existent at just one. That buyer offered the seller $100 more than their asking price to come away from the process with a deal. Another six buyers made a full price offer to close their purchase while 34 of 41 buyers insisted on a deal and managed to negotiate an average discount of $9,118 before all was said and done.

Other notable MLS® activity this week included 30 cancelled and withdrawn listings, 19 expired listings and 26 price adjustments.

Highlights from the news this past week

Can’t afford Canadian property? Downsize your home, upsize your storage locker - Financial Post
Housing starts dip in November, analysts still see soft landing - Globe and Mail
Risks to Canada’s financial system fall - GlobeAdvisor.com
Why Canadian Realtors are optimistic about the housing market - Financial Post
Is Canada in a housing bubble? Analysts can’t agree? - Globe and Mail
Flaherty regrets massive growth of CMHC, vows mortgage action if needed - Financial Post
Canadian real estate most overvalued in the world, study says - cbc.ca Cost drives city home sales - Star Phoenix
Caught between a housing bubble and deflation risk - Vancouver Sun

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Norm Fisher Royal LePage Saskatoon Real Estate