Saskatoon real estate week in review: July 6-12, 2014

In the blink of an eye, the spring Saskatoon real estate market is behind us. Home sales fell further this past week and reached their lowest point since mid-March. Local agents reported just 70 firm house and condominium sales to the local multiple listing service®, down nearly 30 from last week and short of sales recorded for the same week last yearby 22.

The number of new listings added to the MLS®moved in the opposite direction as nearly 200 house and condo listings were added to the system, up 31 from the previous week for a year-over year increase of about the same number.

Following three consecutive weeks of declines, the total inventory of residential properties listed for sale on the Saskatoon multiple listing service® inched higher to close the week at 1526. That’s 11 homes more than were available at the close of the previous week and about 220 more than buyers could find a year ago. Today’s inventory shows a selection of 932 houses, up from 763 at this time last year, and 472 condos up from 456 a year ago.

A quick look at the weekly housing stats makes it obvious who didn’t show up to buy last week. Fewer entry level sales and steady activity at the upper end of the Saskatoon real estate market pushed the median sale price of a local home sharply higher to $386,450. The weekly average price continued it’s roller coaster ride, this week hitting a new peak that required an axis adjustment on my chart as it soared to $392,361.  The six-week average price moved higher by about two thousand dollars over the week to finish ahead of where it was a year ago by about 20K at $366,723. The four-week median price followed the other price measures higher to grow by nine thousand dollars in a week to claim an annual gain of $34,000 when it reached $364,000.

There were still a few buyers who showed up willing to make an offer that exceeded the seller’s asking price. Four such transactions were reported this week with an average overbid of $1,350. The majority of this week’s closed deals came in below list price as 60 buyers netted a discount averaging $12,071 for our first occurrence above 10K in several weeks. The other six sales closed with the buyer agreeing to pay the seller’s full asking price.

Other notable real estate activity this week included 73 cancelled and withdrawn listings (a contributing factor to the week’s high new listing numbers as many of these did an about face and immediately re-listed), 28 homes that expired from the MLS® without a sale and 61 price reductions by motivated sellers hoping to entice a buyer their way.

Highlights from the news this week

Is there a “boom” in the $1 million plus real estate market in Saskatoon? - GlobalNews
Saskatoon home prices edge up: Royal LePage - Star Phoenix
Royal LePage expects house prices to rise through 2014 - Canadian Business
Big city housing continues to boom as small centres are left behind - Financial Post
Local real estate boards give hints of surging markets - Globe and Mail
Regina house prices to rise 2.1% in 2014: Royal LePage - Leader Post
Housing market defies forecasts - GlobeAdvisor
Canadian housing starts rise unexpectedly in June - Financial Post
Canada’s housing markets see widening affordability gap- Huff Post Business

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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