In the past few weeks we’ve heard, and seen a lot of evidence that the housing market in Saskatchewan, and in Saskatoon in particular, is in a bit of a slow-down.
After two plus years of being the hottest housing market in the country, it seems like the market in Saskatoon might finally be levelling off. In April, we saw the average asking price for Saskatoon listings on saskhouses.com drop by about $6,500 from March’s record high of $342,389, and the average asking price for Saskatoon listings in the month of May so far is down an additional $15,000 – to $320,100.
One of the main reasons for the recent slowdown, is that there are more houses for sale in Saskatoon right now, than ever before. Listings on saskhouses.com and on MLS are both up significantly this spring. We had a record month for listings in April, and we will likely break that record in May.
The Saskatoon Association of Realtors hasn’t updated their statistics since February, but they had a record number of listings in February, and we’re pretty sure they’ve had record months in March and April as well. Saskatoon Real Estate Agent Norm Fisher reports on his blog that there were 962 units for sale on MLS in Saskatoon last week. Add to that the 254 Saskatoon listings currently advertised for sale on saskhouses.com, and there is a lot to choose from for Saskatoon buyers.
The average time to sell a home has slowed for both private sellers, and for sellers who are listed with MLS, and bidding wars, which used to be common, are now few & far between. In many ways, it feels like the market is returning to normal, but with prices much closer to par with other comparable markets in the country.
While Saskatoon appears to be turning into a “buyer’s” market for at least the next little while, we think there is still plenty of reason for optimism for sellers.
In the first 15 days of May, 63 of our sellers have marked their properties “Sold” & another 47 sellers currently have their properties listed as having “offers pending”. We have had many reports of good turnouts at open houses, and the website is still getting an amazing amount of traffic.
The Saskatchewan economy is still doing extraordinarily well. A report released today by Statistics Canada says Saskatchewan’s resource boom makes it, along with Newfoundland, Canada’s leader in economic growth, income growth, retail sales, exports and investment. And our population is continuing to grow.
The growth we’ve seen in the past five years in the Saskatoon area alone is amazing. Saskatoon neighbourhoods like Willowgrove, Hampton Village, Lakewood & Stonebridge were just open prairie 5 years ago. In Warman & Martensville, beautiful new neighbourhoods have turned both of those towns into vibrant Saskatchewan cities. Other nearby towns, like Dalmeny, Langham & Borden have seen new house construction on vacant lots, and existing homes have been selling fast. The days of abandoned houses in small town Saskatchewan seem to be a thing of the past. Saskatchewan cities, and towns in rural Saskatchewan are doing incredibly well!
And if you take a look at the licence plates on Saskatoon streets & Saskatchewan highways, it’s easy to see where the people are coming from. Yes, they are coming from Alberta, but they are also coming from B.C., Manitoba & Ontario. And while many people are coming here to live, others are buying Saskatchewan properties as investments, because they have confidence that our economy will continue to grow. With our rich resources of oil, potash, uranium, wheat & gold – just to name a few, Saskatchewan is a great place to be, and our future looks bright.
We’d like to wish all of our customers and website users a safe & relaxing holiday weekend. If your property is still for sale, we hope it sells this weekend – if you're a buyer, we hope you find that home you've been looking for soon. And if you've already bought, or sold, we hope you enjoy the beautiful weather & celebrate your success!
Dale & Susanne Neufeld
http://www.saskhouses.com/
Friday
Housing market slows, but still strong
Canadian home sales expected to drop in 2008
The Canadian Real Estate Association is predicting that the sale of homes listed through the Multiple Listing Service will drop by more than 11 percent this year, and by another 4 percent in 2009.
The CREA says Saskatchewan & Newfoundland are the only two provinces which will see an increase in home sales this year, and it says the biggest drop in home sales will take place in Alberta.
The CREA is predicting that house prices will continue to slowly rise across the country, with the biggest increase coming in Saskatchewan, with an expected increase of 19.3 percent. Compare that with Alberta's expected increase of 4.7 percent.
Manitoba is expected to lead the nation in price increases in 2009.
You can read more on the CREA report in this CBC Article.
Thursday
Average asking prices dip in April
It could be a sign that house prices are starting to stabilize again in the City of Saskatoon, or it could be a temporary slow-down, but the average asking price of Saskatoon properties advertised for sale on saskhouses.com during the month of April dipped slightly from the month before.
The average asking price of Saskatoon properties on saskhouses.com was $335,899 during the month of April, a decrease of $6,490 from March's record high of $342,389.
Year over year, April's asking price was $95,067 higher than in April of 2007. That's a percentage increase of just under 40 percent.
While the increase in Saskatoon house prices has been dramatic in the past couple of years, it feels like they may be starting to level off now. The graph above shows the progressive growth in asking prices in Saskatoon since the beginning of 2007, when prices started to increase above everyone's expectations. The graph at the top of the page shows year-over-year prices - you can click on either of them for a larger view.
The average asking prices in other communities in April....Martensville - $388,492, Warman - $422,391, and Prince Albert - $210,874. It's a bit tougher to get a feel for a trend in those communities, because of a smaller number of listings each month, but the majority of houses for sale on saskhouses.com in Warman & Martensville are new homes under construction, while the
majority of homes for sale in Prince Albert on saskhouses.com are existing houses.
Tuesday
USA Today pegs Saskatoon as one of world's most affordable housing markets
According to USA Today, Saskatoon is still one of the most affordable places in the world to own a family home.
USA Today published the results of a study on average home sales price in 2007 for a 2,200 square foot single-family dwelling with 4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths and 2 car garage for select international markets.
The study was done in U.S. dollars with conversions done on oanda.com as of Sept. 7th.
Even though prices have risen significantly in Saskatoon since the end of the year, (probably at least $100,000 above the published report price) it still remains one of the most economical cities in the world to own a family home. Here is how it compares with some other international cities.
Dublin Ireland $2,133,891
Rome Italy $1,793,838
Paris France $1,677,878
Madrid Spain $1,135,351
Sydney Australia $874,553
Toronto Canada $862,674
Tokyo Japan $780,346
Beijing China $709,687
San Pedro Belize $697,500
Amsterdam Netherlands $537,148
Calgary Canada $513,250
Warsaw Poland $479,000
Istanbul Turkey $417,760
Cairo Egypt $328,719
Mexico City Mexico $277,213
Aruba Aruba $236,250
Saskatoon Canada $211,666
Panama City Panama $201,333
Granada Nicaragua $190,000
While today's "real" prices would probably put Saskatoon a little higher on the list than it is right now - maybe between Cairo & Istanbul, it does put into perspective how good we have it here, and how much potential room there is to grow for housing prices in general in this part of the world.
And it makes it easier to understand how owning your own home is something that many families in other parts of the world can only dream of.
You can see the full report by clicking here.
Is Saskatchewan the new "it" province
Is Saskatchewan Canada's new "it" province? According to the Globe and Mail's Report on Business magazine, yes it is!
In a recent issue, Report on Business paints Saskatchewan as THE place to be in Canada right now, and it predicts that our economy will remain strong for many years to come. There are plenty of good reasons for that optimism. Here is an excerpt from the article.
"This province, with a population only a bit higher than it was in the 1920s, is enjoying the best times of its century-long history, riding multiple booms in commodity prices. Government, once so central to the economy, has stepped back and instead embraced a more business-friendly agenda, including corporate tax cuts.
Predicted to lead Canada in economic growth this year, Saskatchewan is a land of food and fuel - feeding North America, and the world. It is the country's second-largest oil producer. It leads the world in uranium. And its grains are more valuable than ever. "
Considering our richness of resources, it's no wonder that our population is finally showing sustained growth, and that our housing market, and economy is leading the nation in growth. It gives everyone here plenty of reasons to be optomistic, even when other parts of the country, and the continent are seeing downturns in their economies.
You can read the full Report on Business Article by clicking here.
Saturday
New advertiser welcomed to saskhouses.com
saskhouses.com is pleased to welcome Jeffery J. Svoboda General Carpentry to the website as a business advertiser.
Svoboda General Carpentry is located in the town of St. Walburg, just outside Lloydminster, and is available for a wide variety of general carpentry services in west-central Saskatchewan.
Svoboda's Carpentry work includes framing, finishing, roofing & ceramic tiles. It also does concrete work including foundations, basements, and complete buildings.
Jeffery J. Svoboda General Carpentry is Journeyman Certified, and provides guaranteed workmanship.
If you require general contracting work in west-central Saskatchewan, call Jeffery Svoboda at (306) 248-3542.
Wednesday
Saskatoon housing prices up again in March
How long prices will continue to rise remains to be seen, but the demand for housing still seems to be out-stripping the supply.
