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If you've followed our blog lately, you would know that the Saskatoon real estate market is off to a terriffic start in 2014. The Saskatoon Region Association of Realtors (SRAR) released statistics earlier in February.

 

Unit sales appear to be strong so far in 2014. January recorded 331 sales compared to 297 year to date in 2013, an increase of 11%. The number of units listed also increased by 13% with 958 new listings bringing the total inventory in the Saskatoon market to 1,324 properties currently for sale. In January of 2013, there were only 1,061 properties available on the market. Many homes priced between $500-750,000 reduced their asking price late last year. The buyers appear to have responded accordingly with sales in this range increasing by 84% with 35 units sold year to date.


Two other factors of interest are the sales-to-listing ratio and the months of inventory. These two indicators will vary greatly depending on price range. The sales-to-listing ratio compares the number of newly listed homes to the number of sales for a given period. In homes priced between $350,000 and $650,000, the sales to listing ratio averages 28%. However over $650,000 this formula drops to 14%. At the lower price range, one out of every two homes below $350,000 is selling.


The number of months of inventory is simply determined by dividing the number of sales for a period by the number of properties available on the market. When looking at Inventory below $350,000 there is three months availability of homes. Between $350,000 and $550,000 there is just over 6 months of inventory, between $650,000 and $750,000 the number jumps to 20 months. Overall the number of months of inventory in Saskatoon hovers just below six months. According to Jason Yochim, Executive Officer with the Saskatoon Region Association of REALTORS®, “The more months of inventory, the longer a seller can expect to wait for a sale. This just means that there are a small number of sales relative to what is available for sellers to select from.”


The Saskatoon MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) reflects market trends for five specific property types as well as a composite of the Saskatoon market. The HPI works similar to the Consumer Price Index using a benchmark price and start date of January 2005. The composite benchmark price for Saskatoon had reached its peak in May of 2008 at a value of $308,900. By January of 2009, with the market adjustment, it had dropped to a low of $258,700. The market then began a slow climb until October of last year reaching a new high of $312,600, however, by years end the composite benchmark price declined to $306,600. “Since October of 2013 the Saskatoon MLS® Home Price Index had been trending slightly downward, indicating a shift to more of a buyers’ market especially in the higher price ranges.” states Yochim. “The recent burst of activity in January should arrest that decline.”


“Irrespective of the stats, every home is unique in its own way and every seller’s situation is unique. Trends in the market will affect sellers directly.

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Sales have been very brisk in the Saskatoon real estate market of late as figures are well ahead of the record breaking pace of the 2013 market. Last week there were 70 firm sales (11 less than the previous week) recorded by the Saskatoon MLS with an average price of $364,927, which is higher than usual due to higher amount of activity at the top end of the market. Over the past month we’ve seen an average of 74 sales per week at an average price of $348,068, 45 days on market and a selling price of $7862 under asking. In 2013 during the same month period there were an average of 7 less home sales per week and the average price was $14,414 lower (4% increase in average price). As has been the same story for consecutive weeks in 2014, sales volume and average prices have incrementally shot up. At the moment consumer confidence seems to be very high as interest rates remain extremely attractive for individuals looking upgrade or enter the home owners market for the first time.

 

Currently there are 1222 active listings (705 single family, 400 condominiums) in Saskatoon, which is roughly the same figure as the same time period in 2013. Last week there were only 111 new listings (72 single family, 37 condominiums) posted to the market. This is a lower total than we usually witness at this time of year, however you can expect this total to rise as buying and selling conditions are optimal at this time.

 

If you require and further information on the current market or if you’re thinking about buying/selling, please contact us here

 

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Last week in the Saskatoon real estate market there were 66 firm sales (43 single family, 21 condominiums) recorded on the local MLS. Last week’s average price dipped down to $324,405 due to 56% of all sales under the $300,000 range. Over the past month we have averaged 58 sales/week while the average sale price in Saskatoon is a higher than last week at $347,588, the average home sold in 50 days and $7919 under asking price. Last year during the same month period there were 55 sales/week with an average price of $337,982 (2.8% lower than 2014), the average home sold 8 days faster, and the average selling under asking was $6021. Prices and sales volume have consistently been higher than in 2013, so both are positive signs for things to come.

 

There are currently 1214 active listings (711 single family, 385 condominiums) in Saskatoon at the moment, which is much higher than in 2013 when there were only 590 single family and 329 condominiums listed during the same time period. Last week there were 165 new listings added to the Saskatoon MLS, which are 34 more than were posted during the same week last year.

 

Interest rates at the moment are interest rates are around 3.09% for a 5 year fixed, which is a great deal and this should entice first time home buyers to enter the market. What we saw last week was a high amount of activity under $300,000 and the trend should continue.

 

If you are interested in buying or selling or if you would like some more information on the current market, contact us here.

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Sales volume is most definitely on the upswing in the Saskatoon real estate market as last week there was a very impressive 74 firm sales reported to the local MLS (highest weekly total since October 2013). The average price last week closed out at $347,225, while the average home sold on an average of 54 days on market and $7351 under asking price. To put these impressive figures from last week into perspective, we can look at the 4 week average. 

 

Year                    Sales/Week                    Avg. Price                   Days on Market

 

2014                           60                             $351,140                             51

 

2013                           53                             $339,509                             45

 

It’s evident that last week’s numbers have eclipsed the average over the past month in sales volume by 14. The Saskatoon real estate market is also averaging 7 more sales per week more than the same month period from last year, which is also a promising figure. Overall average prices have come up 3.4% from last year.
Currently there are 1174 active listings (697 single family, 359 condominiums) in Saskatoon. The overall listing count was affected by the 142 new listings that were posted to the market last week. In 2013 during the same week period there were 140 new listings posted.

 

Overall these numbers are very promising. The market tends to heat up in February as most buyers start to look more seriously this time of year. Activity may fluctuate slightly in terms of sales volume and listing inventory. However, this was the week that the Saskatoon real estate market shook the winter blues.


If you have any questions about buying or selling, or if you have any questions about the current market, you can contact us here.

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