Saskatoon Real Estate Resource Centre — Where Saskatoon talks real estate

A closer look at the Saskatoon real estate statistics for June 2009

by Norm Fisher on July 3, 2009

The Saskatoon Region Association of Realtors recently reported June results for the entire residential category of Saskatoon real estate, which includes single-family homes, condominiums, semi-detached properties, duplexes, mobile homes and vacant lots. Unit sales totaled 442 properties across all of these property types, at an average selling price of $276,867. Let’s have a look at how houses (single-family detached homes) and condominiums did in comparison to the entire residential category.

Sales of single-family homes in Saskatoon increased from 247 properties last month, to 298 in June, and posted a solid gain over the previous June when just 212 houses changed hands. Active listings took a downward turn through the month of June, falling to 818 from 890 properties in May, and down approximately twelve percent from the close of last June when 931 single-family homes displayed an active status on the Saskatoon MLS system.

In spite of brisk market activity and surprisingly strong demand, the average selling price of a Saskatoon house managed to decline marginally for the second month in a row, sliding to $303,999 from $311,016 last month, and down a whopping $35,000 from June of 2008 when it reached $339,548. The median price held steady at $295,000 for the third month in a row, but fell $24,000 compared to last June when it hit $319,000. The three-month average managed a bit of a bounce, showing gains for the fifth consecutive month, rising nearly $5,000 from May to finish at $305,303, down from $331,630 last year.

A closer look at house prices by area indicates that this month’s averages aren’t likely telling the whole story. The average price of a single-family home in area one was bolstered by a near million dollar sale and a number of sales above $600,000 keeping it within four percent of last year’s number. However, the other four major Saskatoon real estate areas showed year-over-year declines in house prices ranging from a low of twelve percent (area 5) to a high of eighteen percent (area 3). The average price of a single-family home in areas 2 and 4 dropped fourteen and sixteen percent respectively.

The average price per square foot for single-homes showed a little more steadiness on a month-over-month basis, remaining flat at two hundred and forty-nine dollars when compared to the previous month, but sliding approximately ten percent from June of 2008 when it reached two hundred and seventy-seven dollars.

Active listings of Saskatoon condos took a sharper decline on a month-over-month basis falling from 480 units in May to 411 by the close of June. The condo inventory remains up just slightly compared to last June when 408 units were available. Saskatoon condo sales saw their strongest month since April of 2008 as units sales climbed to 123, up 12 from the previous month, and 26 units higher than last June when 87 condos sold.

The average selling price of a Saskatoon condo saw a slight increase compared to May moving from $210,599 to $215,380 in a month’s time, but finished well below last June’s average of $248,681. The median sale price held steady at $209,000 on a month-over-month basis, down $16,000 from June 2008. The three-month average also stayed steady compared to May but showed year-over-year declines of nearly $40,000. In June of 2008, the three-month average price of a Saskatoon condo reached its peak of $253,577.

The average cost per square foot for a Saskatoon condo bounced slightly higher compared to May, rising from two hundred and eleven dollars to two hundred and seventeen. Still, that’s roughly fourteen percent lower than it was last June when it sat at two hundred and fifty-three dollars.

Remember, averages and cost per square foot numbers can provide some useful insights into pricing trends but they’re not as useful when engaging in an actual transaction. If you’re buying or selling you should be seeking current information on active listings and recent sales, which are most comparable to your property in terms of location, size, features and amenities.

Next week, the second quarter Royal LePage House Price Survey will be released. It examines specific residential property types in fairly specific locations through out the city of Saskatoon, and compares prices to the same quarter last year. I think that this report will provide our most accurate look at how Saskatoon house prices have changed over the course of a year. The report is scheduled for release on July 7. Please drop in to check out the details.

See a Google map displaying the boundaries of Saskatoon real estate “areas” here
Data collection and calculation for our statistical reports

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 Saskatoon Real Estate

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Saskatoon real estate market continues to balance in June 2009: SRAR

by Norm Fisher on July 2, 2009

The Saskatoon Region Association of REALTORS® (SRAR) released the residential real estate statistics for June 2009 today, accompanied by this release.

The Saskatoon real estate market continues to balance with increased sales numbers and a reduced inventory of listings on the market.

Residential unit sales rebounded in the month of June with 442 properties changing hands as compared to June 2008 when 321 units sold representing a 38% increase. Year to date, 1867 residential units have sold down 13% from last year’s feverish activity when year to date 2153 units had sold.

The average residential selling for the month of June was $276,867, down 11% from last year’s all time high of $310,386. Year to date the average price stands at $276,232 down 5% from 2008 with an average year date figure of $289,270.

Saskatoon REALTORS® listed 669 properties in the month of June, down 26% from June 2008 when 904 homes were placed on the market. The year to date figure is also favorable with 3825 properties listed so far this year, down 11% from 2008 when 4310 properties were listed for sale. Home buyers had 1439 homes to select from at the end of June that number down from last month when 1532 homes were available for purchase.

Outside of Saskatoon: The average selling price for homes in areas surrounding Saskatoon was $ 251,354, that number up 17% from June 2008 when the average price was $208,760. Unit sales were also up 14% with 99 units selling as compared to 85 selling in June 2008. The number of listings taken followed the city trend with 257 homes being listed, down 11% from June 2008 when 285 homes were placed on the market for sale.

Similar market activity is expected moving into the third quarter of 2009. Market conditions are favorable with low interest rates, steady employment numbers and a generally strong consumer confidence in the local economy.

Drop by early next week when our “Closer look at the Saskatoon real estate statistics for June” will be posted. It includes a more extensive overview of unit sales, prices and active listings of single-family homes and condominiums.

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 Saskatoon Real Estate

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Saskatoon real estate: Week in review (June 22-26 2009)

by Norm Fisher on June 27, 2009

Saskatoon real estate sales showed continued strength moving into the first week of summer with one hundred and ten unit sales, higher than last week by twelve homes, and crushing sales generating during the same week last year when just sixty-five properties traded hands. We’ve seen just one stronger sales week this year, and one last year. Total dollar volume exceeded $33,000,000, its highest level since the last week of April 2008.

New house and condominium listings also came in at one hundred and ten units causing the sales and new listings data points to collide on our graph. Every other week this year, new listings have surpassed sales. Listings increased just three units compared to the previous week, but once again, they were off significantly from last year when one hundred and eighty six homes found their way to the Saskatoon MLS system.

Click the image for a larger version of the graph.

Total active residential listings declined again, falling thirty-two units to 1,435 with eight hundred and seventy-six detached houses and four hundred and sixty condominiums in the mix. The inventory reached its lowest point since April 3 and for the first time in over a year total active listings were actually down on a year-over-year basis. At the close of the same week last year there were 1,440 residential properties listed for sale on the Saskatoon MLS system. Interestingly, in 2008 active listings climbed from 1154 to 1440 during the month of June, and continued on an upward trend for another thirteen weeks before peaking towards the end of September. This year, listings slipped from 1502 to 1435 through the month of June. Have we already hit our peak number of active listings this year?

Total active residential real estate listings for Saskatoon over 2008 and 2009

Sixty-seven Saskatoon home sellers adjusted their asking price this week. A total of thirty-eight condo and house listings were canceled and re-listed, most at a new lower price.

A hefty percentage of sales above the $400,000 mark (nineteen), including one above $900,000, pushed the average sale price for the week higher by more than $40,000 on a week-over-week basis causing it to crack the $300,000 mark for the first time since last November. The six-week average moved in the same direction but grew by just $4,000 from last week to reach $278,520, down from $305,656 during the same week last year. The four-week median moved ahead by about twice as much increasing $8,000 from last week to finish at $277,000, but remained well off of last year’s number of $299,900.

Click the image for a larger version of the graph.

Average underbids were down nearly $1,400 from last week, settling at $11,393. The average discount amounted to 3.6% of the asking price, a drop from 4.6% the week before.

See a Google map displaying the boundaries of Saskatoon real estate “areas” here
Data collection and calculation for our statistical reports

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 Saskatoon Real Estate
Technorati Profile

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Find & view all Saskatoon MLS listings within 1KM of your iPhone or Android

by Norm Fisher on June 25, 2009

If you’re a real estate geek with an iPhone or an Android device you’re going to flip over this terrific little application.

It uses your device’s GPS to position you on a map and it plots all Saskatoon MLS listings within one kilometer of your current location.

Have you ever driven by a real estate for sale sign and thought to yourself, “Hey, I wonder what the deal is on that place?” Well, wonder no more my friend, wonder no more. Just pull out your phone, open the bookmark and browse the listing details including all of the MLS photos and dozens of data fields.

It will continue to search nearby listings as you “pan” the map and it can “follow” you as you walk or drive and automatically update the search results.

If you see something you’d like to visit, you can call us or send us a text message directly from the listing.

It’s a web-based application so it requires no installation and it takes up virtually no room on your phone’s hard disk.

Simply open this link with your iPhone or your Android, bookmark it, and you’re experiencing the magic, now and forever.

But please, don’t keep this gem to yourself. Email it to all of your iPhone and Android friends (you can use that little blue email icon at the bottom of this post to forward it on). They’ll love you for it.

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 Saskatoon Real Estate

This application is brought to me by MyRealPage, the most kick-ass home search tool for MLS listings on planet earth, perhaps in the solar system.

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Saskatoon real estate: Week in review (June 15-19 2009)

by Norm Fisher on June 20, 2009

Following a week of softer unit sales, Saskatoon real estate activity picked up the pace and recorded another week of closed deals that ranked among the best we’ve seen in the past eighteen months. A total of ninety-eight homes were reported sold to the Saskatoon MLS system, an increase from seventy-three last week, and up from seventy-six for the same week last year. While condos were the popular choice last week, single-family dwellings took the lion’s share of the unit sales this week claiming seventy-three sales, against just twenty-five condominium sales.

New residential listings continued to show some weakness with just one hundred and seven homes being offered for sale, down from one hundred and twenty last week, and falling below last year’s numbers by more than fifty percent. Two hundred and seventeen Saskatoon homes were listed during the same week last year.

Total active residential listings slid to 1,467 properties by the end of the week, down for 1,495 last week, but remained at higher levels on a year-over-year basis. At the close of the same week last year, there were 1,387 residential properties offered for sale on the Saskatoon MLS system.

Click the image for a larger version of the graph.

Seventy-eight home sellers made a price adjustment this week, while a further twenty-two canceled and relisted their home, most at a new price.

Average sale prices took a bounce back from $254,737 last week to finish this week at $264,749. The six-week average price fell $2,600 from the previous week to record its third consecutive weekly decline, reaching $274,556, well off of the $308,558 recorded during the same week last year when the six-week average reached its highest point for the year. The four-week median moved in the opposite direction, increasing $1,550 over last week and reaching $269,000. During the same week in 2008 the four-week median selling price was $290,000.

Click the image for a larger version of the graph.

Buyers may have been buying but they weren’t exactly taking it easy on Saskatoon home sellers. The average underbid this week grew to $12,770, up from just $9,486 the week before. The average discount that buyer’s received off of the asking price was 4.6 percent, up a full percentage point from last week.