January Market Update

Year over year average sale price was down 12% in January at $302,412. By comparison, the average price in January of 2017 and 2018 was $$341,260 and $344,720 respectively. The challenge with averages is that the numbers can be skewed in a given period and are therefore not a reliable reflection of pricing. For this reason, the Canadian Real Estate Association created the MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) for major cities to give a more accurate reflection of pricing trends. The HPI establishes attributes for a handful of typical housing styles; Single Family, One Storey, Two Storey, Townhouse, Apartment and a composite of all five. It then establishes a base value to each with the starting point of 2005. From that starting point, changes in value are recorded over time to get a better sense of what is happening to pricing and where prices may be trending. For example, the MLS® HPI value for a typical Single-Family home in January of 2005 was $140,400. This value reached its peak in May of 2015 at $329,500. At the end of January 2019, this value is at $304,300, down from $307,300 in last January. This indicates a less drastic decline in year over year values. By comparison, five years ago this benchmark price was $320,800 and ten years ago $268,200. For more information on HPI go to contact a member of the SRAR or visit saskatoonrealtors.ca.

The total MLS® dollar volume for sales in the Saskatoon Region for January was $84M down 6% from a year ago and comparable to 2017. In spite of this dollar volume decline, January residential home sales on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS®) in Saskatoon totaled declined by only 1% in January with 199 transactions. The region surrounding Saskatoon had 60 MLS® sales in January, only five less than last January and 18% more than January 2017.

Residential MLS® listing totals for January was the lowest in the past six years with 555 new listings introduced to the market, 10% lower than last January. For the market surrounding Saskatoon, the number of new MLS® listings was unchanged from a year ago with 216 units listed on the market. “New listings to the market are not always houses being introduced for the first time to the market.” comments Jason Yochim, CEO of the Saskatoon Region Association of REALTORS® (SRAR). “Often new listings are homes that did not sell in the initial listing attempt and are relisted, often at a revised price.” The total number of active listings as at the end of last month was 1,450 compared with 1,529 last year. “It’s positive to see the overall number of active listings decline to prepare the way for prices to recover.” adds Yochim “some price ranges with still have a good supply to choose from while others will not. It’s important to remember that REALTORS® have the greatest access to available property” he adds.