If you read the story in today’s Star Phoenix titled, “City housing price surges: Average sale price of Saskatoon house tops $160,000,” you might be a little confused, especially if you’ve been reading my blog or reviewing my statistics. I’d like to make a small contribution to this discussion and add just a couple of the missing pieces.
The “year-end average figure of $160,577” which is related to “houses” in this story, actually represents the average sale price of Saskatoon homes across all of 2006.
Included in that average are condominiums and mobile homes. The average selling price of a Saskatoon house actually came in at approximately $171,000 for all of 2006.
Of course, the other potential problem with one-year averages is that they are often skewed by some old data, particularly in markets where prices are changing rapidly. Those houses which sold at a lower price at the start of 2006 tend to skew the average down and give a slightly distorted picture of what one might expect to pay for an average house in today’s market. This was one of the primary reasons that I added six-month averages to myAverage Sale Price of Saskatoon Houses page and my Saskatoon Neighbourhood – Profiles and Price Trends page. In a market which is changing rapidly, the six-month average represents a more realistic reflection of current market prices.
Having said all of that, I’ll note that the average selling price of a house in Saskatoon over the last six months is $176,153, substantially higher than you might have guessed from reading this story. Given the fact that current listing inventories are extremely low, it’s reasonable to assume that the average is closer to $180,000 at this time.
Unfortunately, I cannot provide you with a link to this story as it didn’t make the Star Phoenix website today. Instead, they feature the article, “Edward Jones at home in Sask,” which discusses the investment brokerages plan to open offices “in our community” so that new sales people can go “door knocking in neighbourhoods.” I’d like to thank the Star Phoenix for the warning.
Norm Fisher Royal LePage Vidorra