Saskatoon real estate week in review: September 30 - October 6, 2012

Saskatoon real estate sales softened again this week as local real estate agents reported just 67 houses and condos firmly sold to our MLS® system. That number is down 15 properties from last week but just lower than sales recorded during the same week a year agoby one. New listings remained steady at 140 units, the same number that were added to the multiple listing service last week, but behind last year’s numbers by three.

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The total inventory of active residential real estate listings on the Saskatoon MLS® system declined by 20 units over the course of the week to reach 1187, the lowest number that we’ve seen since early May but still a fairly insignificant drop. Inventory has been unusually stubborn and sticking quite close to the 1200 mark for more than four months. The year-over-year picture sees a greater decline. Last year at this time, Saskatoon home buyers had roughly 80 more properties to choose from. Today’s totals show 721 single-family homes and 382 condominiums. Last year at this time we had  763 houses and 435 condos bearing an active status on the system.

Saskatoon saw its 11th residential sale for 2012 at a price exceeding $1 million dollars this week. Spread across a smaller number of unit sales this one skewed the numbers fairly significantly and pushed the average sale price of a Saskatoon home to a new high for the year at a whopping $376,076. In fact, this week’s average sets a new record for any week in the history of the Saskatoon MLS®, something that’s occurred several times this year. More activity at the upper end of the market pushed the weekly median price in the same direction as it closed at $325K, a full twenty-five thousand dollars ahead of last week. Meanwhile, the six-week average selling price moved higher by just a few thousand dollars from where it was one week earlier. It closed the week at $335,700 for an annual gain of about eighteen thousand dollars. The four-week median price bucked the trend and slipped lower on a weekly basis by one thousand dollars to settle at $309,000 and finished up year-over-year by just nine grand.

Some of the heat came off of buyers at the negotiating table as 58 of this week’s 67 sales closed below the asking price by an average of $12,410. That’s about $4,000 more than last week’s buyers managed to grind. Two buyers paid the seller more than they were asking by an average of $5,050. Another seven wrote an offer at full list price. Other notable MLS® activity this week included 58 cancelled and withdrawn listings, 55 expired listings and 60 price adjustments.

Highlights from the news this past week

Why Gen Y should tough it out in the rental market - Globe and Mail
Saskatoon house prices still on the rise, agency says - Star Phoenix
New mortgage rules put brakes on housing market - Financial Post
Average home price ticks higher, Royal LePage says - CBC
Report shows Canada home sales sliding, prices still up - Rueters
Canadian house prices edge up in Q3 while number of home sales fall - Royal LePage
Home prices rise in Q3 but slowdown seen coming - Globe and Mail
Regina bucks national trend in Q3 - Leader Post
As housing market slows, industry scrambles to paint positive picture - Financial Post
Everything you need to know about Canada’s housing bubble - Financial Post
Sask. leads province in building permits - Star Phoenix
Sask. sees jobs jump 10,600 in September - Star Phoenix

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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