House prices stabilizing in Saskatoon

The average asking price of Saskatoon listings on http://www.saskhouses.com/ during the month of September was $335,251 - an increase of just $2,218 from the average asking price of $333,033 in August, and another sign that house prices are stabilizing in Saskatoon.

September's average asking price was almost $13,000 less than this year's highest average asking price of $348,163 - which was reached in June.

The September asking price is also virtually identical to the average asking price of Saskatoon listings on saskhouses.com during the month of April. You can see from the graph above that the trend line of Saskatoon asking prices on saskhouses.com has flattened out in the last few months, and it is even more evident on the graph below, which shows the month-by-month asking prices over the past couple of years.

Because saskhouses.com is not involved in setting the price of listings on the website, or in the negotiations or transactions of their sales, we can only report on the asking prices of listings which are posted on the website.

Sales were fairly strong during the month of September, with 66 customers marking their properties "sold" during the month - bringing the total number of sales via saskhouses.com to 801 for the year so far.

New feature added to interactive map

A new feature has been added to the interactive map for Saskatoon on saskhouses.com

The new feature gives buyers and sellers real-time information on the asking prices of properties in specific Saskatoon neighbhourhoods.

To access the new feature, click on our interactive map for Saskatoon at http://saskhouses.com/map/stoon/ - then select the Neighbourhood Info option on the right-hand side of the map.

When you click on the purple dot in each neighbourhood, you will be shown the total number of saskhouses.com listings in the neighbourhood, the average asking price of those listings, and the minimum and maximum asking prices of listings in the neighbourhood.

The information is updated every four hours - essentially making it real-time information. We would like to thank the developors of our interactive map - DevelTech Inc. of Saskatoon, for suggesting and implementing this addition to our interactive map.

You can click on the picture above for a larger view of what you will see on the map.

Average asking price up again in August

The average asking price of Saskatoon listings on saskhouses.com during the month of August increased by just under 3 percent from the average asking price in July.

The average asking price of Saskatoon listings in August was $333,033 - compared with $325,104 in July. August's average asking price was about $15,000 less than June's record high average asking price of $348,163.

August's average asking price was $58,994 higher than the average asking price of Saskatoon listings in August of 2007 - which was $274,039.

While asking prices increased slightly from July, sales activity decreased, with only 70 of our customers reporting their properties sold during the month of August - the lowest monthly number of the year.

Many of our customers have recognized that prices have softened in the Saskatoon market, and in other areas of the province as well in the past few months.

205 of our 887 active listings have reduced their asking prices since they first listed their properties.

You can click on either of the graphs on this post for larger views of the average asking prices for Saskatoon listings - the first graph compares asking prices to the year before, and the second graph shows a month-by-month comparison of asking prices.




The average asking price of August listings in Martensville was $347,286 - in Warman, it was $393,810, and in Prince Albert, it was $298,481.

Note that because we are not involved in the negotiations, or transactions of the properties which are sold through advertising on our website, we can only report the asking price of properties, and not the final selling price.

Average asking prices drop in July

The average asking price of Saskatoon listings on saskhouses.com dropped by just over $23,000 during the month of July.

The average asking price of Saskatoon listings was $325,104 during July, down from June's record high average asking price of $348,163.

July's average asking price was the lowest since January of 2008, when the average asking price was $313,263 - but it was still $45,567 higher than the average asking price of $279,537 in July of 2007.

July saw another brisk month for listings on saskhouses.com, and sales were up from the month of June. 101 saskhouses.com customers marked their listings as "sold" during the month of July, an increase from 92 in June.

The average asking price for saskhouses.com listings in Martensville during the month of July was $316,967 - the average asking price for Warman listings was $362,901, and the average asking price for Prince Albert listings in July was $258,368.

Saskatoon economy shows signs of strength

> A new report released by the Saskatoon Regional Economic Development Authority shows that the economy in the Saskatoon area is still thriving.

The quarterly report by SREDA shows that approximately 3,400 more people were working in the Saskatoon region in the second quarter of 2008, than during the same time period in 2007, and that June of 2008 saw more people working in Saskatoon & Saskatchewan than ever before.

SREDA says the 2nd quarter of 2008 was the eighth quarter in a row in which there were more people employed full-time in the Saskatoon region compared to the same time frame in the previous year. And it says "As word spreads about the opportunities in the Saskatoon region, labour force numbers continue to rise. In fact, the region has never had a higher quarterly or annual increase in working age population (+0.9% and 2.9% respectively).

Business growth in Saskatoon is on track with numbers from 2007. Year-to-date, there were 489 new business licenses issued in the City of Saskatoon, as compared to 488 during the same timeframe in 2007.

The number of building permits for new projects grew substantially in the second quarter of 2008, causing year-to-date non-residential construction totals to surpass those of the second quarter of 2007 by 40 per cent. The city of Saskatoon had a large increase in industrial permits (57 per cent), as well as permits for new institutional buildings such as hospitals and other health care facilities.

Investment in infrastructure also contributed to an increase in non-residential construction. Communities bordering Saskatoon also experienced a boost in non-residential construction, (196 per cent) compared with 2007 numbers. This was due to augmented investment in the commercial, industrial, institutional and agricultural
sectors.

SREDA says housing starts have continued to exceed expectations set in early 2008. The second quarter of 2008 saw a 30 per cent increase in housing starts compared with the previous year. The heightened demand has prompted surrounding communities to develop more residential lots.

As for the existing housing market, SREDA says "strong sales has prompted many owners to place their house on the market. The first six months of 2008 saw a 50 percent increase in listings and a 27 percent decrease in sales compared to the first half of 2007. Nonetheless, housing prices have increased during the past twelve months (+30%), with 2008-Q2 posting a 13% gain. An average dwelling in Saskatoon cost $306,060 in 2008Q2."

The graph below shows the average number of MLS listings, sales, & selling prices since 2004. You can click on the graph for a larger view.













Passenger traffic continued to increase at the Saskatoon International Airport during the second quarter of 2008. It is the eighteenth consecutive quarter that saw an increase of passenger traffic compared to the previous year.

And SREDA is predicting that the Saskatoon economy will remain strong for the foreseeable future. The region’s gross domestic product GDP) is projected to grow 3.4 per cent in 2008.

You can read the full SREDA report by >clicking here.

New partnership with Compass Advertising

saskhouses.com is pleased to announce a partnership with Compass Advertising, a new Saskatchewan advertising magazine.

Compass is a weekly magazine which is distributed free of charge to hundreds of business locations throughout Saskatchewan. In addition to advertising for businesses, and houses and automobiles for sale, Compass also includes articles of interest to the public such as home renovation hints and tips, plus much more.

As part of our partnership, select saskhouses.com listings will be featured each week in the Compass magazine. Compass magazine is available at over 350 locations throughout Saskatchewan and this list is growing on a daily basis.

You can read Compass Magazine online - by clicking here.

saskhouses.com reaches 1/2 billion dollar mark in listings for 2008

saskhouses.com reached another major milestone today, reaching one-half billion dollars worth of Saskatchewan property advertised for sale on the website in 2008.

With the addition of 315 Beechdale Crescent to the website this afternoon, the total dollar value of property listed on saskhouses.com in 2008 went to $500,503,578.

saskhouses.com has seen steady growth in the number of properties advertised for sale on the website every year since we began tracking those numbers in 2002.

You can see full details on our statistics for the past 7 years on our facts and figures page.

We would like to thank all of our past and present customers, and the thousands of buyers who have used, and continue to use our website to shop for the Saskatchewan homes of their dreams.

New milestone reached for saskhouses.com

Another milestone has been reached by saskhouses.com - we set a new record today for the total annual dollar value of listings on our website.

The total asking price of all listings to date in 2008 on saskhouses.com is $470,414,008, which breaks last year's record total dollar value of listings of $468,998,527...and it is only July 10th!

Rising house prices across the province have played a significant role in the total dollar value of listings on the website, but the number of listings is also up by almost 40 percent from the first six months of 2007.

We are on pace to advertise about 3/4 of a billion dollars of Saskatchewan property for sale on the website this year, and we expect that number to continue to grow as more and more people become comfortable with the internet, and with selling their own properties.

The graph above shows the total dollar value of listings on saskhouses.com since we started tracking that number in 2002. (You can click on the graph for a larger view)

saskhouses.com is Saskatchewan's leading website for private home sales, and has been in operation since June of 1999.