Saskatoon real estate week in review: July 13-19, 2014

Following two consecutive weeks of sharp declines home sales rebounded but remained below levels seen last year for a second week. Saskatoon real estate agents reported a total of 90 houses and condominiums as firmly sold to the MLS®, up 20 from volume recorded the previous week to finish ten shy of the level reached during the same week a year ago.

New listingsslipped lower this week as agents added 177 house and condo listings to the Saskatoon multiple listing service®, a drop of 21 compared to last week but enough to keep them at elevated levels for the season as they have been for most weeks this year. Over the same period of time last year just 156 new listings were added to the inventory.

It’s not entirely unheard-of to see inventory levels move higher after they’ve reached their annual peak. This week it did just that, as it did last week. By the close of business Friday the total number of properties listed for sale in the residential category of the Saskatoon MLS® system reached 1542 for a weekly gain of 16 homes, leaving it higher than it was at this point last year by 225 properties. It seems unlikely that we’ll see that trend continue, but stranger things have happened, and they’ve happened fairly recently, in fact. Just last year, inventory levels appeared to peak around mid-June. After falling for a few weeks, total active listings began to trend higher and reached their highest point in October setting the stage for a fairly stable pricing market through the first half of this year. It will be interesting to see how that unfolds in the weeks ahead.

I noted in last week’s report that fewer entry level buyers had shown up to buy. We saw the exact opposite this week as a strong handful of sales below the $200K mark were reported and sellers with homes prices above $650,000 were completely shut out. Consequently, both the median price and the average price of the Saskatoon homes traded this week fell lower to $307,000 and $335,043 respectively. The longer term price measures did not escape without a bit of a trim either. This week, the six-week average price a home fell nearly four thousand dollars to $362,875 to hold onto an annual gain of about ten thousand dollars. The four week median tumbled further losing fourteen thousand on the week as it came in at $350,000 and held onto to year-over-year increases of roughly $20K.

Overbid sales activity made a bit of a comeback as six buyers paid more than asking price handing their respective seller a bonus that averaged $6,553. On the flip side, 76 sellers found themselves at the table with a buyer who would not close without a discount that averaged $9,690. The remaining eight Saskatoon real estate sales closed at the full asking price.

Other notable real estate activity this past week included 89 cancelled and withdrawn listings, 17 expired listings and 58 price changes.

Highlights from the news this week

Bank of Canada signals low rates for longer - CREA News
Sask house prices in stable territory - Star Phoenix

Housing market skewed by handful of hot cities: Canada Guaranty CEO - Financial Post
Canadian home sales beat expectations - Globe and Mail
Fitch calls on government for action on overvalued market - Financial Post
As prices rise, Fitch warns Canada may have to act again - Globe and Mail
Saskatchewan’s newest city: Warman is growing and open for business - Star Phoenix

Why most Canadians should be begging for a real estate correction - Financial Post
Why Fitch is sticking to its 20% Canadian real estate overvaluation- Globe and Mail

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Norm Fisher Royal LePage Saskatoon Real Estate