Active Listings Continue Decline

For the seventh straight month this year, the number of active listings in the market was down year over year. At the end of August there were 2,019 active residential listings in the city of Saskatoon, a decline of 8% from a year ago. Of the active listings, approximately 1,227 are single family while just over 780 fall under condominium ownership. The decline in active listings is largely due to a decline in homes listed year over year. To date, a total of 5,875 residential properties have been listed in Saskatoon on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®), down 11% compared to the end of August last year. “In a slower market, one typically sees fewer speculative sellers than in a hot market” comments Jason Yochim, CEO with the Saskatoon Region Association of REALTORS® “It’s important to bear in mind that homes sell in all markets. If a seller needs to sell then they must be sure to have good advice and price to the current market conditions.” adds Yochim.

In the month of August there were 329 residential sales on the MLS®. This is on par with August of 2018 and just lightly below the five year average of 352 sales for August. Year to date there have been 2,411 residential MLS® sales in Saskatoon, of these 1,751 are single family properties, unchanged compared to the first eight months of last year. On the other hand, there were 648 condominium at the end of last month, 11% fewer than last year.

Year to date residential MLS® sales between $200 - 300,000 totaled 657 transactions, down from 707 a year ago. The number of homes that sold between $350-750,000 on the MLS® year to date was also down by just over 100 sales from 1,036 transactions in 2017. So far in 2018, a total of 41 properties have sold in excess of $750,000 in Saskatoon, on par with last year.

The Home Price Index (HPI) Value for single family residential home sales in Saskatoon increased slightly from July to $312,200. The HPI measures the change in value over time for a typical single family home with a standard set of attributes. This rate of change reports similar to the Consumer Price Index and is the most accurate indicator of home pricing. The HPI value for townhouse style residences declined for the month to $225,200, down from $234,400 in July. Benchmark pricing for apartment Style condominiums continue to decline for the eighth straight month. For more information on HPI go to saskatoonrealtors.ca . Year-to-date, the average sale price was $334,226, a 4% decrease from the same period last year. Average prices can be misleading as outlier sales can skew the average sale value one way or the other over a short period of time. This is why the median price of HPI value is a better indicator of the market.

Last month, the average home in Saskatoon took 52 days to sell in Saskatoon. The five year average for days to sell in the month of July is 50.4 days.

REALTORS® subscribe to a strict code of ethics and are dedicated to developing professional standards and continuing education in the real estate profession. This is not the case for those who sell real estate in the province and who are not members of an association of REALTORS®.

Mark your calendar's and get ready to eat! The Taste of Saskatchewan is exactly one week from today! Make sure to come on down to Kiwanis Park in Downtown Saskatoon to enjoy amazing food, drinks and music from noon to night from July 17th - 22nd, 2018.

Click here for the Website.

Click here to check out what is on this years menu.

Click here to jot down what time you need to be there to listen to your favorite music.

Spring has arrived and summer is fast approaching with the hot sun beating down along with clear skies. Everyone enjoys a warm sun, but sometimes the sun can become too warm and people look forward to going inside a building with blasting AC. Whether you are a first-time home buyer or an experienced one, you should know by now that your bills always seem to rise rapidly when that AC is turned on. Here are a few ways to help cut down that price and keep your house cool.

Awnings

For most houses, awnings aren’t really at the top of a person’s list to check to see if they can help with cooling down the house, but you should definitely take a peek outside and see what you are working with. Installing awnings over a south facing window can decrease the solar heat gain by almost half, while installing awnings on the west facing windows can decrease the solar heat gain almost by 75%.

Curtains

Almost everyone knows that by closing the curtains, the house becomes cooler as the sun and heat are blocked out by them, as solar heat gain can be decreased to close to 33%. If you close your curtains, but still notice that it’s still hotter inside then it is outside, check the weave of your curtains. Heavy closed weaved fabric curtains, such as velvet or broadcloth, are the best bet for effectively blocking out the sun.

Interior Shutters

If you have a quirky sense of design for your home, try installing interior shutters to your windows. Wood shutters would work best in blocking off the sun’s rays and cooling the house. They also add a little extra something to the room design that makes the room pop.