As was expected with high inventory levels and a 6% year to date decrease in home sales, the average and median price are seeing a slight decline. Year to date the average residential selling price in the city of Saskatoon is down 2% to $346,371. The median price indicates a slightly greater reduction of 5.7% to $335,000.
"A slight decline in pricing was anticipated with just over 2,000 residential units for sale in Saskatoon." comments Jason Yochim, CEO with the Saskatoon Region association of REALTORS®. "The decrease in home sales is also a factor and could be caused by lower demand or asking prices that do not reflect the market, turning away potential buyers". he adds.
The five-year average for active listings is 1,633 units. Based on the sales activity in May, it would take just over 5 months to liquidate the current inventory. Properties that have been selling are selling within 97.2% of their asking price and in an average time of 45 days. The five-year average for the number of days to sell is 37.
The sales-to-listing ratio is determined by dividing the number of sales for the month by the number of new listings. At the end of May, the sales-to-listing ratio was 41% which is considered to be a buyers' market. The five-year average for sales-to-listing ratio is 48%, which represents a market that would be considered "balanced".
Market activity in the area and communities surrounding Saskatoon appears to be slightly more challenged. The total number of sales year to date was 388 at the end of May a decrease of 20% for the same period last year. The average selling price of $309,099 is down 3% from 2015, comparable to that of Saskatoon.
Year to date, Martensville saw a total number of sales at 67 representing a 7% decrease for the same time last year. Warman on the other hand experienced a 52% decrease in sales for the first five months of 2016 when compared to the 169 sales last year.
The total number of properties available for sale in Warman at the end of May was 209 which would take a year to liquidate at the current rate of sales. Comparatively, Martensville had 159 listings available representing just over seven months of inventory. The average time required to sell a home for these two cities is 45 days.
"It is important to keep in mind that houses are selling in all price ranges, the key to realizing a sale in a short period of time at 97% of asking price is to get sound advice on where a particular home fits in the market based on its condition and location compared to its competition." advises Yochim. -Source: June 2016 SRAR Media Release
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