Sales rise 16 per cent from same month of last year
Saskatoon — A hot, dry May brought a warmer market for Saskatoon home sellers, as sales rose 16 per cent over the same month of 2018.
City sales came in at 422 units, up from 363 last May and 420 the year before, the Saskatoon Region Association of REALTORS® (SRAR) reported Monday. Sales are also up 10 per cent year-to-date at 1,469, up from 1,342 and 1,450 in the last two years.
“Sales have rebounded significantly this year, in large part due to an increase in condosales,” said Jason Yochim, CEO of SRAR. “Condo sales are up almost 21 per cent over
a year ago. Prices have been coming down, and they are very affordable compared to most housing types.”
Year-to-date, 449 condos have sold, as compared to 372 last year. Over the same period, single family home sales rose six per cent to 1,292, up from 1,215 last year. In May, single family home sales were up 13 per cent from last May.
As sales rose, unit listings fell three per cent to 911 in May, down from 942 in 2018 and 1,031 the previous year. Year-to-date listings are also down three per cent; so far, 3,422 homes have been listed to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) as compared to 3,536 last year and 4,055 in 2017.
The higher sales resulted in a 17 per cent dollar volume increase over last May to $140.7 million, up from $120.5 million. That’s despite a two per cent drop in the aver- age selling price, which fell to $329,595 from $334,651.
“I suspect first-time home buyers have been very active this spring based on the con- do sales,” Yochim said. “When lower-priced homes sell, it has a downward effect on the average price.”
In Saskatoon and region, including communities such as Warman, Martensville and Dalmeny, sales rose 14 per cent in May to a three-year high of 561 units. Listings fell seven per cent to 1,386, down from 1,485 and 1,553 in the previous two years. Dollar volume rose 12 per cent to $181.3 million from $162.3 million last year. Yochim said, “The sales to listing ratio was 46 per cent in May, which is approaching a balanced market.”
In the surrounding region excluding the city, dollar volume was down 13 per cent to $31.5 million from $36.3 million. Listings fell 20 per cent to 317, after two years at about 390, and sales rose eight per cent to 113, up from 105 last May. The average selling price fell 19 per cent, however, to $279,095, after posting $346,130 last May.
Year-to-date, the surrounding region has seen a three per cent decrease in dollar vol- ume at $120 million; a three per cent drop in listings, to 1,344; and unit sales of 421, up nine per cent from last year.
As of the end of May, buyers had 3,164 listings to choose from in Saskatoon and area, unchanged from last year. Of those, 1,938 are in the city proper (down from 2,001 last May) and 1,126 are in surrounding towns and regions (down from last year’s 1,164).“We’re finally seeing some stabilization in the housing market, which has been in buyers’ market territory for some time due to oversupply and lower consumer confidence,”
