New Saskatoon real estate listings came in at their lowest point in the past month with 199 residential properties listed for sale on the MLS including 41 condominiums and 145 single-family homes. Even still, the inventory of active listings pushed higher to settle at 1,440 units, a net gain of 53 properties compared to the close of the previous week. As of this morning, there are 931 single-family homes and 408 condominiums (1,339 total) in the “active” inventory.
You’d also have to go back a month to find a slower sales week. Total sales in the residential category sat at 72 units for the week with 65 of those properties falling in the single-family and condo categories.
Overbidding continued to slide off the map with just 3 of all sales recorded reporting an “above list” selling price. 11 sellers met their buyer at full list price, but 51 engaged in a negotiation which resulted in an average underbid of $12,026, the highest discount on record since we starting including this figure in the week in review.
Average selling prices remained remarkably high given the stiff competition sellers are facing but the gap between list and sell prices widened substantially to $9,263.
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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{ 58 comments… read them below or add one }
Well it looks like actual sales and prices in June stayed fairly level overall.
The most interesting info (and a bit surprising) to me that we didn’t see a bigger amount of new inventory being added to the market.
The reason I say that is because the media has started to report quite a bit in the last 2 weeks about the “slowing housing market” and I was just making the assumption that a lot of speculators would get scared and start off loading homes like crazy.
Can it be that there are a lot less homes “waiting in the wings” to be sold than people on this blog are predicting?
Could a peak in home inventory be just over the horizon?
Obviously, one week hardly makes a trend, but it bears keeping in mind that while prices can not increase forever, house inventory will obviously not keeping going up forever either.
Oh well, July will be interesting.
Now back to work.
Before I get back to work, Norm can you let us know what Regina went too this week for total Homes and Condos?
Mithan,
For the week, Regina sold 47 units @ $245,766.
Month to date in June – 240 @ $248,825.
Hard to comprehend why there should be such a big difference between these two markets.
Is that a big difference from a few months ago for Regina Norm?
And thanks for the Regina numbers, I know this is a SKTN blog. I wish somebody like you did this for us.
Mithan,
“Is that a big difference from a few months ago for Regina Norm?”
Well, no, but that does make it any easier to comprehend.
I’m just not sure why a home should be 30% higher in Saskatoon than Regina.
Seems that the number of listings sold per week divided by the number of new listings added is surprising low (this week, last week, etc.). If you look at the TD Economics Report (June 27), our sales to new listings ratio is teetering with that experienced during the real estate declines in 1981 and 1991, a time with year over year percentage declines in prices. My guess is anyone buying right at this very moment will lose on the sale come this time next year.
“Average selling prices remained remarkably high”
I didn’t see the average price in your report (the image was broken when I loaded this page). Maybe I just missed it … but what was it last week?
And Happy Canada Day Norm and everyone, I hope you have a fantastic day with your family and friends.
It makes me wonder that if a correction kicks in, if Regina is going to be in much better shape than Saskatoon.
From what I remember (may be wrong) the two cities were fairly close back in 2005 for average home prices but I get the feeling Regina has risen less and had less inventory in the city as well.
As for why Saskatoon got pushed up more, my guess is because it has Potash Corp in town and that it is the main gateway for the North in Saskatchewan, so it was the obvious speculator choice for the most development.
Regina has been cheaper than Saskatoon for houses in recent memories. Late last year/early this year, the gap was close to 50% more for a Saskatoon home, since Regina’s price “boom” came later. Doesn’t make sense, especially when you consider the average wage in Regina is higher, and always has been.
I think people in Saskatoon just like the city more and are willing to pay more. Always have been. Surprising, as having lived in both, they are more similar than any one in Saskatoon would admit.
Norm, I was hoping the listings inventory graph would become a weekly feature! Sales the lowest in over a month, and likely to be low again this week, because of the holiday. Inventory gaining 53 properties in a week still seems significant. Really, net change in inventory should average out to zero, a constant positive change, where only gaining 53 net places is considered slowed new listings activities really points to how much inventory has come on line, and as Napoleon points out, how low the sales to listings ratio is these days, should point to a price decline.
I was interested in the comment on the other post, where a blogger had pointed out buyers may be spending the same as the last few months, but buying nicer places, that they could now purchase with their set budget. Supported by Norm pointing out that cost per square foot of space is down in June. Maybe the small cheap condo conversions just aren’t selling, so the average sale price is holding steady. Once a few of those conversions are discounted, I bet we see the average sales price start to get a lot lower.
I lived in regina as well and I’m not sure
I agree that it is more like saskatoon
then we like to think. regina is a raunchy city.
take prince albert and times it by 10.
I would NEVER move there just to take advantage
of cheaper house prices.
So, just got me a house in Weyburn. Just under $200,000. I guess earlier this year their average house price was $160,000, now most nice places seem $200 to $300 for high end. My place is 1,100 sq ft, close to schools, nice renos. And I found an awesome job. Weyburn actually had way better job options than Saskatoon, for more money! It’s a great small city, with established trees, good schools, decent shopping and a warmer climate in the winter. And none of this Regina or Saskatoon or Estevan for oil stuff. Weyburn is the centre of oil and gas in Saskatchewan right now. Yes, corporate is still in Calgary.
All in all, pretty pumped that I found a community a lot cheaper than Saskatoon, actually bought a real nice house, that would have been at least $100 G more in Saskatoon, maybe $150 G more, and an awesome job. I guess I’ll move back to Saskatoon some day … if oil ever goes down in value! And to think, I was gonna get into Calgary’s over priced tanking market.
And Jackie, Saskatoon is a raunchy city too, have you ever been to the West End? Saskatoon is the city that leads Canada in violent crime. Regina has a bad north of center area, and some bad central areas, but nice south end, with really nice Wascana Park, better than the river valley park wise, but unfortunately, sans river. And Regina’s south east suburbs are great. Far nicer than Briarwood or Arbor Creek. With a good shopping centre in the east end.
I find people who complain about Regina after moving to Saskatoon are typically upgrading from a low income or transition area in Regina to a better area in Saskatoon (the last had moved from CORE Regina to Sutherland, of course that’s a step up!). I guarantee Jackie is not from Wascana View, Windsor Park, Gardiner Park, Wood Meadows, Woodland Grove, University Park, any south end area. Those ares are all way nicer than anywhere in Saskatoon, for cheaper than Briarwood. The guy I know who had to move to Saskatoon from Regina’s Wascana View is still distraught he can’t find an area that nice in Saskatoon. He lives in a really nice place in Lakeview, by the “lake” but there are decrepit duplexes down the street. Wascana View does not have duplexes, or multi unit condos. That’s “too low end” as he points out.
Anyway, peace out. Enjoy continuing to be ignorant of other places in Saskatchewan and Canada. I’m off ot live in my awesome place in Weyburn, on a TEN year mortgage! I recommend you all give Weyburn a second look, for oil patch wages and small town house prices.
Doug hasn’t posted his weekly Saskhouses, so I thought I’d say there are an additional 367 places for sale on Saskhouses.com, up from 340 last week. So their inventory is still increasing, even with saskhouses users switching to MLS/an agent, when they can’t sell at inflated prices.
So 27 new saskhouses + 53 new MLS = net gain of:
80 new places in Saskatoon, plus Kijiji etc this week
Since I got scouped on saskhouses net gain of 27 listings, here’s kijiji’s numbers:
1,321 “housing for sale” for kijiji Saskatoon
But some duplicated ads, and places outside of Saskatoon, still a lot of places
Even if half are out of town, and of the half in town, half are advertised elsewhere, or multiple times on kijiji, that’s 325 available houses in Saskatoon, to add to the 367 Saskhouses and 1,440 MLS listings, so a LOT of stuff available out there, on all different sources.
Kenton,
Weyburn????? lololololol I bet the next nice place to move too is Meadow Lake with its booming economy and low house prices…oh wait better yet Hudson Bay you can still buy a house there for 40k. Saskatoon is beautiful every1 knows Regina looks like a piece of coal beside Saskatoon.
alright kenton, I plead ignorance. I am not from any of those areas you have mentioned. I agree Saskatoon
is raunchy too, but not as raunchy as prince albert or regina.
Has anyone actually been to Weyburn?
It’s a nice town.
And everyone here is all about that Bakken stuff, I thought closer to Estevan, but why not move where the good jobs are?
Kenton,
Congratulations! Curious if you worked with Leslie Smith?
Armoth,
Why??
Jim,
I’ve never really “been there” but I do know some people from the area and they all walk upright.
Great for you Kenton, congratulations. Why do you find it necessary to bash other places in the process? Just curious.
I think Kenton was responding to Jackie’s “raunchy” comment re: Regina. I’ve got to agree with Kenton, Regina has nice high end areas and a nice south half, if Saskatoon residents think Regina is “raunchy” they might want to look at the forgotten half of their city.
I’d like to see a graph with inventory and sales plotted against a timeline of the past 2 or 3 years, month by month.
Would anyone else be interested in seeing that?
I just might do it myself.
I moved to Regina in 1999, having lived in Calgary for 3 years before that.
Know what? As much as I disliked Regina before, I love the city now. Its a nice city, good people, etc.
I live in the South West part of the city, near the south land mall, but as long as you stay away from Central, your good. Its a pretty decent little city.
Crikey,
Oh ya! I like that a lot. I’m up to my ears in work and hoping to grab a few hours on the holiday. Perhaps we’ll do that later in the week, unless you beat me to it.
Regina vs. Saskatoon,
I once worked with a couple who was moving to Saskatchewan from out east to open an office equipment franchise for one of the major companies. At the time, they were open to Regina and Saskatoon but had never been to either. They spent a day looking at homes with me in Saskatoon and then went on to Regina to do the same thing. They called me a couple of days later and told me that their Regina agent suggested that she would rather live in Saskatoon than Regina.
They bought here but have since sold their business and moved back east.
Personally, I haven’t spent much time there. Driven to meeting there on many occasions. Hotel Saskatchewan in nice, but that’s about all I can say.
Norm,
Reason I was laughing is because Weyburn would be comparable to Melfort and most of us know what Melfort is like. lol
RE: Regina vs. Saskatoon.
I grew up around P.A. Lived for 6 years in S’toon and had a fantastic time. I’ve been in Regina for the last 2. Regina gets a really bad rap in Saskatoon (and elsewhere); but I can honestly say that I prefer Regina. Wascana park is massive and great, traffic is much better, the ‘Rider Nation’ is insane here, it’s the seat of political power, home of the RCMP, there’s a great folk festival and many other cultural events, higher average income, lower housing costs, free CBC concerts, more cosmopolitan downtown, etc…. I’ve had the snowbirds buzz my building downtown – literally shaking it! Never had that happen in S’toon…
Don’t get me wrong; I like S’toon as well. The two are actually highly comparable. I just happen to like Regina a little bit better. It seems a little more refined somehow.
I just wish the lakes were better down south =). Only thing I miss about P.A.
I’ve got to say that Regina always feels more like a *city* to me; it’s a bit denser.
But the giggles at Weyburn make me smile: never been to Weyburn, needed to Google map it before I knew where it was, no insult meant to Weyburn. But here’s the funny thing:
Weyburn has 10,000 people, Saskatoon has 200,000 people. That’s a ratio of 20 to 1.
If you multiply Saskatoon’s population by 20, you get 4 million. Toronto has 5 million people, Montreal about 3.6 million, Vancouver around 2 million and change.
In other words, the big cities in this country are to Saskatoon what Saskatoon is to Weyburn. So when you guys choke on your coffee at the thought of Kenton suggesting that teeny weeny li’l Weyburn might be a better place than Saskatoon — that’s the reaction in people in bigger cities have to the same suggestions by people from here.
For exactly the same reason.
Oh, and I rather like Regina. It’s a touch more built up than Saskatoon — which is prettier, no doubt. But I’m a transplant, so the ’saskatchewan rivalry’ thing I just don’t get.
Hey Norm…
What?? You, busy?!
I’ll do my best with the graph!
jrochest,
That’s an interesting way of looking at it. We like to think we’re living in the big city.
Crikey,
I’m not sure how it works this way but I have two new full time people this year, who are both excellent but the hours still seem to slip away.
If I can make a suggestion, I would use the SRAR total residential stats as it will be difficult to find any lengthy history for just houses and condos. The numbers, going back to 2004 can be found here.
http://www.teamfisher.com/MLS__Stats/page_1723681.html
Thanks, Norm!
Could you give me the month end totals for # of sales and # of active residential listings for June?
I’m also confused by some of the numbers… when sales are greater than number of listings, is that just indicative of excess previous months’ inventory being sold?
I’ll send it ASAP.
Happy Canada Day!!
Norm:
Do any blogs or online resources have any break downs like the one you just posted above, except for regina?
Crikey,
I see 321 sales and 1412 active listings for month end.
“when sales are greater than number of listings, is that just indicative of excess previous months’ inventory being sold?”
Exactly. The active listings show what’s available at a specific time. Then you’ve got new stuff coming on over the course of the month, and new sales taken out, to arrive at the new active listing count.
Thanks again.
Mithan,
Sorry. Nothing that I’m aware of.
I have lived in Regina my whole life. Although I hate to say it, Saskatoon is alot cleaner and nicer.
Toughguy, what neighbourhood of Regina do you live in? You’re definitely entitled to like Saskatoon over Regina, but I find that people who live in Kenton’s list of nice areas of Regina, typically like it a lot more than those who live in Glengetto, Central, or NOD.
Having spent a lot of time in both Regina and Saskatoon, I’m still amazed how similar they are, with each slightly better than the other in a lot of areas.
How many ‘buyers’ are out there? The number of sellers seems to be trackable but how about the buyers?
I’m wondering with all the speculators and ‘flippers’, etc. if the goose that laid the golden egg hasn’t been killed.
Hey Robin,
They only count if they’re buying and we’re seeing between 60 and 90 of those per week. 320ish in June.
Plus people are still moving into Saskatchewan, and that migration is expected to increase, not decrease. It still wont stop things from correction a bit though.
Hey, Norm, you sold the Buena Vista house? Did this just happen, or am I so clueless that I missed the big red ‘SOLD’ across the picture?
jrochest,
I just got the conditions removed on that one yesterday so the sold notice has just gone up.
I was wondering when the buena vista house would sell. it is really nice! The caswell hill house looks pretty nice too.
Hum…it’s quiet around here…
Must be the long weekend…
[crickets]
Yes, Mithan, people are still moving into Saskatchewan, but with far more new houses for sale every week than are bought, many people are likely moving OUT of Saskatchewan as well.
Hey ,I live in the Greater Vancouver Area where single residential listings have hit almost 20,000 units, close to double this time last year. After listening to the media backed real estate “experts” who said it would never happen here ,we are seeing price reductions to complete sales. Realtors report prices remain stable but if you want to sell now its reduce , reduce, reduce .We are following Calgary and Edmonton even though we still have the most expensive real estate in Canada. Sales have stalled in the Okanagan as well. Lots of adverts flogging new condo developments. By year end everyone will likely realize if your a flipper or a speculator you’re in TROUBLE.
It is inevitable Saskatoon and Regina will follow the Alberta and BC trend.My wish is for every speculator and flipper to get caught in the “exit” door. This time it will take about 24 months to level off
Oh yeah, my job requires me to travel all of Canada. Regina is still one of my favorite cities, place and people.
Just get rid of winter, Saskatchewan would be a great place to live.Lots of space. Another reason why current rise in prices is result of Real Estate euphoria which gripped all of the World last 5-6 years. Take a look at Las Vegas, Phoenix, Miami, Southern California, London England, Spain, Austrailia. Prices are “reversing”
Don’t get caught on the way out !
Doug:
Many of those homes were bought by speculators and are now being flipped. They were bought in the last 2 years, vacant (or rented) and are now being sold off at higher prices.
Another large number are from people building new homes and looking to sell their old homes.
They are not all from people “leaving” Saskatchewan.
Well, than Mithan, those homes were initially NOT bought by people moving into Saskatchewan, as the media lead us to believe, but by speculators.
If it was people “looking to sell their old homes”
they are either moving (likely) somewhere warmer, or staying here, but then, why is supply so much greater than demand if they were staying here.
I think it’s a combination:
Less people moved here before, absentee speculators
Less people moving in now, decreased demand
Increased people cashing out at top, incresed supply
Gord “Just get rid of winter, Saskatchewan would be a great place to live”
Touche, but, if you figure that one out, you may replace Tommy Douglas as the greatest Saskatchewanite (BC, southern ontario, maritimes may miss theirs)
Gord,
Growing inventory seems to be the trend across most of the country.
Doug and Mithan,
Wouldn’t you agree that StatsCans “net-migration” numbers probably provide the best insight into how many people are coming and going?
From June 26 Star Phoenix story titled, “Sask. population rises 0.35%”
“During the past year, 30,307 people moved to Saskatchewan from other provinces, compared to 19,361 who moved out, for a net interprovincial in-migration of 11,036 people. In addition, 3,839 immigrants from other countries moved to Saskatchewan.”
“The first-quarter increase was the highest recorded in Saskatchewan in decades.”
http://tinyurl.com/6oh4uh
I suppose it’s fair to “speculate” that Saskatoon has become far less attractive to migrants as the highest priced market in the province, but that would just be speculation.
“those homes were initially NOT bought by people moving into Saskatchewan, as the media lead us to believe, but by speculators.”
The media reported on speculation through most of 2007. I don’t know how anyone couldn’t have known about it. For a year, every article that ran mentioned that this, together with migration was fueling the market.
Wow! It’s nice to hear someone from the GVA praising Regina. You just made my day Gord!
Twice as many listings in the GVA as last year!?! uh-oh.
Winter is absolutely a pain, but like my grandpappy said “it keeps out the riff-raff.”
Looks like the mainstream media is finally getting the hint that housing inventory is way up.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/saskatchewan/story/2008/07/02/housing.html
Well, I just bought my home finally in Regina, so hopefully this is true:
“The average price is holding, so we’re not seeing a retraction as far as property values are concerned,” he said.”
My biggest worry is that Canada starts to show a similar decline to the United States over the next 5 years and that Regina sees a 20-30% decline that may never be remade.
Norm:
I am very well aware of those stats, I just wish we knew exactly where people were moving
I did hear one rumor from a friend that Brad Wall is supposed to announce some mega-project for Regina that is supposed to see up to 1500 jobs (or 1500 families) come to Regina. Still trying to find out more info on that one though…
Well, brand-new Stonebridge detached for sale this week for the first time below 300K. First time in a bit. Tip of the ice berg?
Norm,
How are condo sales looking in comparison with single-family units? Are sales slowing more? Do you think many will be converted back to rentals?
Gord, in addition to winter, you also need to get rid of the constant wind. THEN you’d have one helluva place to live.
Gord, by the way:
“My wish is for every speculator and flipper to get caught in the ‘exit’ door.”
I could not agree with you more. They need to get their butts kicked in a major way for over-inflating this market, each and every one of them.
(Unfortunately, it ain’t exactly a fair world out there…)
I just read on Saskhouses that average June asking prices have increased. I don’t get it. If there are way more listings now than a couple of months ago, why are people increasing there asking price?? Shouldn’t it be the other way around? Don’t people who list their houses want to sell them?
Heather,
96 condo sales out of 321. Fewer that May as a percentage of total sales.
If they can’t sell them, they’ll almost ceratinly rent them out.
Sean,
Could be a swing in the types of houses that are listed. MLS sales for June show an increase in selling price, but the average size of a sold house also increased.
Sean, as Norm pointed out before, the bigger houses and decreased condo sales (well decreased even more than housing sales) actually lead into a decreased price per square foot in June for MLS.
The thing with saskhouses listings, they often are higher than MLS, testing the water, and are then re-listed for lower anyway on MLS later on (kind of pre-MLS) and if they sell off saskhouses, the purchase price is not disclosed. From the price reductions, transfers to an MLS/agent and increased time to sell with the big increase in saskhouses inventory, I would guess that like MLS, most saskhouses places are likely going for LESS than asking. Likely well less than asking, since they do seem to be more over priced than MLS.
That, and it will take a while for sellers who aren’t selling to accept that the market is weaker and they need to drop prices. This over saturated inventory thing is kind of new to Saskatoon in recent memory. Still, saskhouses, with 375 listings, continues to have increased inventory, and this will sooner or later lead to decreased prices, if they want to actually sell their houses.
New listings still out-numbered sales, so as to make the total number of places for sale higher than anytime previous
The current number available for sale at this exact moment is a record high,
sales are still down.
–
So what if “new listings dropped” SRERCB?
The total went up, because the new listings > sales
for the 4th month in a row
Saskabust