Saskatoon real estate sales fell sharply this week. As we pushed towards mid-December it appears that people were more likely to be buying Christmas gifts than homes. Local REALTORS® reported just 46 firm residential sales to the multiple listing service®, down from 73 the previous week, for an increase of two when compared against sales for the same week last year.
New listing activity, which had already tumbled last week slipped a bit lower to 70, down just three from a week ago for an annual decline of 16. Listing activity will remain low through the balance of December. Most people aren’t looking for extra traffic through their home over the holidays.
The number of Saskatoon homes showing an active status on the MLS® system fell to its lowest point since early February. By this morning, home buyers have 1402 options to choose from, down 39 from last week’s close, and lower than it was at this time last year by close to 200 units. I believe that to be the largest annual decline recorded this year, but like the other measures (sales, new listings, and even prices) these numbers should be taken with a grain of salt. Motivations swing wildly at this time of the year. That said, there’s no question that the trend is towards lower supply and higher demand which should mean continued balance in the market, at least for a while.
A closer look at housing categories shows 829 active single-family homes for sale in Saskatoon, down from 858 last week, and 896 a year ago. Condo inventory is sitting at 507, down just four from a week ago, and lower than last year by 91.
Buyers seeking homes below the $200,000 mark pretty much disappeared this week to drive the median sale price for the period higher to $327,500. The average sale price for the week slipped lower to $321,764.
Meanwhile, the six-week average price softened modestly. It dropped to $329,482 for a weekly decline of about seven thousand dollars, which is about 10K shy of where it stood at this time last year. The four-week median price of a Saskatoon home fell for the third week in a row, this time by close to four thousand dollars to leave it down annually by seven thousand dollars.
Two sellers got an early Christmas surprise as competing buyers drove the selling price of their home above the asking price, one by $5,100 and the other by $16,100. Buyers had a good week as 39 managed to close a deal below the asking price with a hefty average discount of $14,232.
Here is a breakdown of what the sales to listing price ratio looked like on this week’s sales. Please note that those sales that do show a sale price that is greater than the list price are all new properties that spent some period of time on the market, and most likely included additional improvements that were not reflected in the original list price. We report these to you as “at list price sales”, which is likely too generous in some cases, but it’s simply not practical to obtain the full details of each sale.
More weekly stats and numbers for those who love them.
Thank you for reading TeamFisher’s Saskatoon Real Estate Week in Review.
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
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