Luxury home market sees huge growth in Saskatoon and across Canada
A new Carriage Trade Luxury Properties Report released today by Royal LePage Real Estate Services finds that sales of luxury homes far outpaced the general market across Canada. Year-over-year unit sales more than doubled in Calgary, Edmonton and Halifax.
While Saskatoon is not mentioned specifically in the report, I can confirm that a similar trend is occurring here. Of course, our “luxury market” still boasts a substantially lower price point than those used in this survey. For the most part, Royal LePage looked for properties which sold in excess of $500,000. So far this year, Saskatoon real estate agents have sold 152 homes priced over $300,000. That compares with just 73 homes sold for the same period last year. It’s also worth noting that one sale of a Riverside Estates property came it at the $1,000,000 mark, a new record for a residential home sale in this area. Read on for more of this report.
TORONTO, November 24, 2006 – Canadians are embracing luxury living more than ever before – and if they are not currently living in a luxury home, many aspire to someday live in the lap of luxury. As a result, the number of unit sales of luxury homes has skyrocketed in Canada’s major markets, according to the Carriage Trade Luxury Properties Report released today by Royal LePage Real Estate Services. The report found that there has been a surge of unit sales in all markets examined, with the greatest increases occurring in Calgary, Edmonton and Halifax, which all reported sales increases of more than 125 per cent, year-over-year, in the first three quarters of 2006.
If the aspirations of Canadians play a factor, sales of luxury homes will not diminish anytime soon. The report, which includes a market analysis of trends and activity in major markets across Canada, combined with a national omnibus poll (conducted by Maritz Research Canada), found that over one-third (37%) of Canadians aged eighteen and older, currently live in a luxury home, plan to buy a luxury home soon, or aspire to one day live in a luxury home.
“The pronounced increase in the number of luxury homes sold across the country is a strong reflection of Canadians’ confidence in the economy and the real estate market,” said Phil Soper, president and CEO, Royal LePage Real Estate Services. “For the substantial sums that these homes command, buyers have come to expect distinctive properties outfitted with luxurious amenities, where it is clear that painstaking attention has been paid to every detail.”
When asked, “If you were purchasing a luxury home, what would be the most important criteria you would consider when choosing this type of home?” Canadians cited: investment potential (25%), proximity to excellent schools (19%), the prestige of the neighbourhood (17%), luxurious amenities throughout the house and the size of the house (11%) and the prominent neighbours (8%).
Added Soper: “House values have appreciated much more quickly than the underlying economy for much of this decade. The Carriage Trade brand is a unique way for Royal LePage Realtors to raise the profile of special homes which are not only priced in the upper end, but also exhibit unique features and amenities that set them apart from other properties. Realtors using the Carriage Trade brand are experienced working with exceptional homes and have access to proprietary tools enabling them to succeed in this segment.”
In terms of the feature that would be the most important to Canadians if they were purchasing a luxury home, a commercial style kitchen assumed top rank (21%) in the poll. Interestingly, a gender divide was evident when it came to cooking as 26 per cent of women cited the commercial style kitchen as the most important feature, compared to 15 per cent of men. The men’s den prevails with 11 per cent of males citing the luxury in-home movie-viewing theatre as the feature that would be most important to them if they were purchasing a luxury home, compared to only five per cent of females.
The poll also found additional features that would be of most importance to Canadians if purchasing a luxury home to include an indoor or outdoor pool (14%), smart wiring (12%), heated floors and driveway (11%) and a fitness centre/pilates/yoga studio and luxury in-home movie theatre (both at 8%).
Images of “Carriage Trade Homes“
Read the full report here.
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Norm Fisher
Royal LePage Saskatoon Real Estate
There's 3 Comments So Far
April 3rd, 2009 at 11:52 am
A million dollar home in Saskatoon? That’s just amazing to me. Every time I visit your city it seems to have grown some more and there sure have been a lot of expensive homes built in the area over the last few years. I’m really enjoying following your blog and it makes me feel connected to my home. Thanks Norm.
April 3rd, 2009 at 11:52 am
Hi Donna. It does seem that people have really changed their thinking and are much more comfortable investing large amounts of money in their homes. Perhaps it’s because real estate has proven itself to be a pretty stable investment over the years. Hundreds of higher end homes have been built in Saskatoon in recent years. On top of that, there have been a considerable number of “luxury homes” built just outside of the city where half million dollar houses are the norm. Casa Rio and the newer development called “The Willows” are good examples. Building sites in those spots sold very quickly.
When I first started in this business the average selling price in Saskatoon was $83,000. I can clearly remember that $200,000 was the mark where it became difficult to market a home as there just weren’t that many people who would be willing to buy above that point. Now, it’s a challenge to find many good houses priced below that mark.
Thanks for your visit and the feedback. I’m glad to hear that you’re feeling at home.
April 3rd, 2009 at 11:53 am
When will the prices go down in this false boom? We must remember that our wages didn’t go up according to the housing prices. They say the housing prices are catching up to what they should of been but we must remember that our wages were lower. So when you even it all out the housing market was not under priced according to our wages. Now we must hope that the interest rates don’t go up to what they were in the early 80’s. If they do look out for all the forclosures that will be in Saskatoon.