Saskatoon real estate week in review: October 24-28, 2011

Following three consecutive weeks of declining sales, the Saskatoon real estate market rebounded this week to show 76 units sold (detached houses and condominiums) for an overall gain of 12 sales compared to last week. The weekly total finished well ahead of the same week last year when just 56 Saskatoon homes were reported sold to the local MLS®. New listings in the same housing categories moved in the opposite direction and finished four units behind last week at 94. That total is higher than the number recorded during the same week last year by nine listings. Click the image for a larger version of the graph. The total inventory of active MLS® listings in the residential category continued to follow last year’s trend line and declined by just ten units over the course of the week to finish at 1215, about even with the number of properties available at the same point in time last year. As of this morning, there are 747 single-family homes and 394 condos displaying an active status on the multiple listing service® for areas located within municipal boundaries. Last year at this time, those numbers stood at 734 and 414 respectively. Click the image for a larger version of the graph. Cancelled and withdrawn listings came in on par with last week at 33 units with 18 of those immediately returning to the system, pretending to be a new listing, most at a new and improved price. An additional 57 Saskatoon home sellers adjusted the asking price on their home in hopes of finding a buyer before winter. Another 11 properties slipped out of the system when they failed to sell during the original listing period. Following a series of increases that brought the average selling price of a Saskatoon home to its annual peak for three consecutive weeks, the average fell more than $30,000 from last week to $320,549. The six-week average price continued to ride the momentum created by a number of high-end sales in recent weeks and reached its highest point this year for the third consecutive week, gaining just under a thousand dollars to close the week at $326,584. That gives it an annual gain of close to $25,000. The four-week median price crept up even more picking up almost $2,000 this week to finish at $309,950. That number is creeping on previous highs for the year and sits nearly $30,000 above where it was at this point in 2010. Click the image for a larger version of the graph. Overbid sales were low again at just two, with one seller managing a contract more than $10,000 above the asking price. An additional six sellers got all that they were asking. The majority of this week’s sales (68 of 76) were completed at a price that was below the asking price by an average of $11,626. Click the image for a larger version of the chart.

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 Vidorra