Saskatoon real estate: Week in review (June 22-26 2009)

Saskatoon real estate sales showed continued strength moving into the first week of summer with one hundred and ten unit sales, higher than last week by twelve homes, and crushing sales generating during the same week last year when just sixty-five properties traded hands. We’ve seen just one stronger sales week this year, and one last year. Total dollar volume exceeded $33,000,000, its highest level since the last week of April 2008.

New house and condominium listings also came in at one hundred and ten units causing the sales and new listings data points to collide on our graph. Every other week this year, new listings have surpassed sales. Listings increased just three units compared to the previous week, but once again, they were off significantly from last year when one hundred and eighty six homes found their way to the Saskatoon MLS system.

Click the image for a larger version of the graph.

Total active residential listings declined again, falling thirty-two units to 1,435 with eight hundred and seventy-six detached houses and four hundred and sixty condominiums in the mix. The inventory reached its lowest point since April 3 and for the first time in over a year total active listings were actually down on a year-over-year basis. At the close of the same week last year there were 1,440 residential properties listed for sale on the Saskatoon MLS system. Interestingly, in 2008 active listings climbed from 1154 to 1440 during the month of June, and continued on an upward trend for another thirteen weeks before peaking towards the end of September. This year, listings slipped from 1502 to 1435 through the month of June. Have we already hit our peak number of active listings this year?

Sixty-seven Saskatoon home sellers adjusted their asking price this week. A total of thirty-eight condo and house listings were canceled and re-listed, most at a new lower price.

A hefty percentage of sales above the $400,000 mark (nineteen), including one above $900,000, pushed the average sale price for the week higher by more than $40,000 on a week-over-week basis causing it to crack the $300,000 mark for the first time since last November. The six-week average moved in the same direction but grew by just $4,000 from last week to reach $278,520, down from $305,656 during the same week last year. The four-week median moved ahead by about twice as much increasing $8,000 from last week to finish at $277,000, but remained well off of last year’s number of $299,900.

Click the image for a larger version of the graph. Average underbids were down nearly $1,400 from last week, settling at $11,393. The average discount amounted to 3.6% of the asking price, a drop from 4.6% the week before.

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.

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Norm Fisher
Royal LePage Vidorra