In spite of reports that mortgage brokers were working at a feverish pace attempting to firm up mortgage approvals prior to the introduction of stricter qualifying rules that come into effect on Monday, Saskatoon real estate sales, while up from 54 last week came in at a rather run of mill 68 this week. That tops production for the same week last year by just one deal.
New listings eased substantially from a week earlier as local agents brought just 154 property listings to the system, down 80 from last week, and ten fewer than were added to the multiple listing service® over the same week last year.
Inventory levels of Saskatoon homes for sale slipped lower to 1903 this week, down just 17 from last week’s close to finish the week lower by 113 units when compared against levels recorded on this date last year. Most of the annual declines are found in the single-family homes category which stands at 1040 listings today, down from 1154 a year ago. Condominium inventory moderated some and closed the week at 690, up just 26 from a year earlier.
Perhaps a silver lining to the new stricter mortgage rules which will reduce high-ratio borrowers buying power by 20 percent may be an increased market for condos. If an entry-level buyers affordability level drops from 300K to 240K a condo may become their best option if they’re not into renting. It will be interesting to see how that plays out and whether buyers will begin to embrace the clear buyer’s market that exists in that category.
With far fewer home sales above the 500K mark, and none above a million (like there were during the previous two weeks) the average weekly sale price of a Saskatoon home tumbled lower to more typical levels at $353,384 even while the weekly median held fairly steady at $336,500. The six-week median price continued to push higher and reached $355,237 for a weekly increase of close to three thousand dollars and a year-over-year increase of eleven thousand dollars. The four-week median price fell one thousand dollars from last week to $339,000 and finished lower than it was a year earlier by six thousand dollars.
Following a complete shut out on overbid and “at list price” sales last week, sellers faired a bit better as six of them got their asking price and one scored a deal at $9,100 more than they were asking. The remaining 61 sales closed below the asking price with a hefty average discount of $14,489.
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
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