Though almost everything that could be said about this topic has already been said, I thought I’d better bring the latest news release from the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) to the front page, lest I be accused of covering up the bad news. :)
In a press release issued Friday, CREA notes that new listing records have been set in Saskatoon for two consecutive months. May saw new listing activity reach 1,015 units compared to 706 properties that were listed in May 2007. Saskatoon’s total active listings inventory grew to an all time high of 1,154 properties by the close of May.
In an interview with Joanne Paulson of the Star Phoenix, CREA economist Gregory Klump describes recent changes as a “very dramatic evolution of the market.”
“The price increases that Saskatoon has seen are in the rearview mirror,” said Klump. You’re still going to get high year-over-year increases, but they’re going to shrink.
“That reflects the reality that the market is much more balanced than it has been for quite some time.”
Listing activity in Saskatoon and Regina saw the largest year-over-year increases compared to other major real estate markets across the nation, but it follows a trend that other western cities started to experience over a year ago. Nationally, new listing activity jumped seven percent to 67,628 units through May but ballooning inventory levels are causing the biggest problems in Calgary and Edmonton where average selling prices have fallen 2.4% and 4.8% respectively since this time last year.
For reasons that he doesn’t explain, Klump sees prices continuing to “rise at a slower pace,” and notes that CREA is “not forecasting price declines in Saskatchewan.”
Read Joanne’s Star Phoenix story here.
Read the Globe and Mail report here. (Thanks Crikey)
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.
Follow our daily updates on Twitter @SaskatoonHomes.
Norm Fisher
Royal LePage Vidorra