Saskatoon real estate week in review: June 29 - July 5, 2014

True to form, the Saskatoon real estate market sent some signals that we may have passed our peak sales weeks for 2014 as unit sale numbers of houses and condominiums dipped below the 100 mark for the first time in six weeks. Local real estate agents reported 99 firm sales to the Saskatoon multiple listing service® this week, down 26 homes from the previous week. That was enough to close the week ahead of the same period last yearby 16 sales.

On the heels of a two week retreat in numbers, new listings added to the MLS®moved higher this past week to 167, up 13 from the week before and ahead of the same week last year by eight.

The total inventory of residential properties listed for sale on the Saskatoon multiple listing service® trended lower for the third consecutive week, the longest downward trend since late last year. By the close of the week, inventory sat at 1515 having slipped by 37 properties from the close of the previous week. While that number is well above numbers recorded at the end of June in 2013 when just 1269 active Saskatoon real estate listings could be found on the MLS®, and up on the five year average for this particular week which sits at 1358 homes, sellers have been fairly lucky to experience a market with robust sales as that is what has brought some balance. As we leave the month of June, sales have been high enough that our total “months of available inventory” is just three. So while the overall listing numbers seem high, very strong demand has kept things fairly stable.

At the close of the week there were 918 single-family homes being offered for sale on the Saskatoon multiple listing service®. That’s ahead of the number recorded at this time last year by 159 homes. Condo numbers finished the week at 474, up from 432 a year ago.

The average sale price of a Saskatoon home sat at one of its lowest points for the past several weeks at $363,390 while a good mix of sales across all price ranges kept the median price pretty solid at $348,500. The six-week average price managed to inch higher by about sixteen hundred dollars to finish the week at $364,882. That’s 15K higher than it was at the same point in 2013. Meanwhile, the four-week median price moved up by thirty four hundred dollars from the week before to claim a remarkable year-over-year increase of twenty seven thousand dollars. This is an indication that in recent weeks fewer first time buyers have been active.

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Overbid sales continued to be low as just four sellers accepted offers above their asking price, but the average overbid amount was pretty hefty at $5,500. On the flip said, 88 buyers made off with a discount averaging $9,098 while the remaining seven buyers made a full price offer.

Other notable activity through the Saskatoon multiple listing service® included 125 cancelled and withdrawn listings, just 3 expired listings and 58 price changes.

Highlights from the news this week

‘HGTV effect’ pushes home reno spending above $6 billion in Canada - Financial Post
Can you afford a home in these cities? - GlobeAdvisor
Home sales, price up in first six months of 2014 - Star Phoenix
Home prices expected to increase - Star Phoenix
Economists continue to be surprised by Canada’s housing market- Financial Post

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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