The Saskatoon Region Association of Realtors recently reported May 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 372 properties across all of these property types, at an average selling price of $276,091. Let’s have a look at how houses (single-family detached homes) and condominiums did in comparison to the entire residential category.
Following a slight decline during the month of April, total active listings of singe-family detached houses grew from eight hundred forty-seven to eight hundred and ninety by the end of the month, up from seven hundred and thirty-six in May of 2008. Unit sales showed some strength rising from two hundred and thirty-five last month to two hundred and forty-seven in May, finishing just six units higher than the same month last year. Absorption rates remained stable compared to the previous month at 3.6 months of inventory, but sat higher than last year when it was slightly higher than a three-month supply.
House prices remained remarkably stable given the buzz about improving market conditions. The average selling price of a Saskatoon house took a slight downturn from $312,565 in April to finish the month at $311,016, some $16,000 lower than it was in May of 2008. The median remained steady month-over-month at $295,000, but again, finished $16,000 below last year’s number of $301,000. The three-month average selling price gained about $3,600 over last month to close just above $300,000, well off of the number attained last May when it came close to $328,000.
Average sale prices of house in Saskatoon for May 2009
The average price per square foot for single-homes showed the same kind of steadiness on a month-over-month basis, increasing just slightly from $248 to $249 but showed deeper losses compared to the same month last year, falling about eleven percent from $280 per square foot in May of 2008.
Active listings of Saskatoon condos saw a smaller increase than houses over the past thirty days, but a much higher increase compared to last year. May came to a close with four hundred and eighty condominiums showing an active status, up just five units from April, but one hundred and fifty-seven listings higher than last May when three hundred and twenty-three units were available. Sales also increased, just one unit compared to last month, but up about thirteen percent compared to last year. One hundred and eleven condos changed hands during the month of May, which made for the strongest month for Saskatoon condo sales in a year. Still, an additional month of condominium inventory is available this year, when compared to last as the absorption rate climbed from 3.3 months to 4.3 months.
Condo prices continued to display a downward trend as the average selling price for the month lost about nine thousand dollars compared to April and finished at $210,599, down roughly sixteen percent from May 2008 when it sat just above $250,000. The median selling price fell $6,500 compared to the previous month, down just $16,000 from May 2008 when it was $225,000. The three-month average fell $4,800 from last month to $215,099 and finished significantly lower than May 2008 when it reached $242,472.
The average cost per square foot for a Saskatoon condo appeared to be slightly more stable on a month-over month basis falling just $2 from April to finish at $211, but was roughly nineteen percent lower than it was when it peaked in May of 2008 at $262.
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.
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 @Norm_Fisher.
Norm Fisher
Royal LePage Saskatoon Real Estate
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{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
Generation Y advised to wean selves off parents’ cash
http://tinyurl.com/ns3fjq
“A survey for Australia’s St George Bank found almost two-thirds of Generation Y-ers — people born from the mid 1980s to early 1990s — are expecting their parents to help them out with their rent, their wedding and when buying a home. However, the poll found many parents were no longer in a position to fund their children, with 70 percent of ‘baby boomers,’ or people in their 50s and 60s, suffering financially as a result of the global financial crisis.”
Norm, great info. Thanks.
Jason, thank you for this Friday’s doom and gloom post “70 percent…suffereing”. Good to keep in mind.
Jason and Loki,
are you two siblings?
L.oki, “suffering financially” could extend to a wide range of things, from as drastic as losing one’s home to simply not being able to take that annual Hawaiian vacation. Try to focus on the ‘Generation Y’ component, which was the whole point of the article…
“Moore said the survey found that many Generation Y-ers just did not know how to budget or save.” This is not a ‘doom and gloom’ tale, per say, but rather a cautionary one – in which some foresight, advance planning and budgeting could lead towards avoiding it entirely.
George, one could almost envision that…
Based on you twitter postings, Norm, this week is looking like a sharp spike down in average price, as things currently sit at about $255k avg. over all sales.
If that holds, or even inches up only somewhat, that would put two of the last four weeks under $260k average price. We saw something like this at Christmas, but it was definitely an anomaly; the last time we saw it in a predictable pattern was February ‘08 — 15 months ago.
I wonder if we have retraced our local bubble back to then? Be curious to see how the rest of June plays out…
Hey Norm,
Looks like the real action was in the condo market, I guess it should’nt really be that surprising, never the less the stats were stark.
Price per square foot really stumbled for houses and condos as well, it some ways average per square foot seems to provide more insight regarding price trends then average selling price.
Norm, Do you remember $345 per square foot in Area 3 last year?
Bookrat,
Yes, the average for the week did finish right around that $255K mark. Fifteen of twenty-one sales in area one are condos so the average in that area really pulled the overall average down. It’s just $241K in area one, and the median there was just $227K.
Rick,
While cost per square foot can make some unreliable moves (for instance, a preference towards two-storeys over bungalows in a given month could skew the average) I agree that over the long-term this measure may be more reliable for tracking price trends than the average sale price. Seems to me that as prices come down it’s just as likely (perhaps more likely) that a buyer will opt for more home, instead of a lower price. If they can afford a $320,000 home, and that home drops to $290,000, maybe they go for the $350,000 home that dropped to $320,000, thereby keeping the averages higher.
“Norm, Do you remember $345 per square foot in Area 3 last year?”
No, I don’t, but I have a short memory. That’s probably why I keep bumping my head.
Seriously though, the record high that I see for area 3 is $276 last August (SF home). Where are you getting $345?
I wonder what house in Saskatoon got the cherry for the highest $ per sq. ft.
Rick,
A Briarwood bi-level at 1,633 square feet, fully developed brought $595K or $364 per square foot. While a seller could have almost got that ppsf for a 1000 square foot Lawson Heights four-level split last year, there are really just a handful of others that claimed a 300+ number. They are certainly the exception today.
Wow! At $364 psf the entire house must have had the best of the best development throughout. Well enough about memory lane. Thanks alot Norm, very insightful info and greatly appreciated.
Norm,
I was wondering what you could tell me about what’s occuring in the Warman market? How has this market been trending in 09 from a price perspective? Please advise. Thxs.
Brad,
There a few enough transactions in Warman to get much of a sense on a month-to month basis. I did a search of single-family homes sold in Warman over the first five months of 2008, and compared to sales over the first five of 2009. Here’s what the stats say.
2008 (to May 31)
Single-family unit sales: 46
Average sale price: $371,571 (wow!)
Average price paid per square foot: $282
2009 (to May 31)
Single-family unit sales: 72
Average sale price: $295,797
Average price paid per square foot: $236
I get similar results if I go to a single style of house. Over the same period in 2008, bungalows averaged $343,356 or $279 psf. In 2009, that was down to $268,672 and $233 respectively.