Saskatoon Real Estate Market by Mike Gustus - Gustus Group

When Is The Right Time to Buy or Sell?

Mike Gustus - Gustus Group — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 12:46:00 GMT

We are in a world of constant change. Real estate is no different. To sell your house in today’s market is very different than it was a year ago. Change is not easy for most of us.

As sellers we almost feel resentful because it seems unfair that the prices have pulled back in the past few months, and that we didn’t sell when prices peaked. What we need to remind ourselves of is that the prices today compared to a couple of years ago are huge. Compare prices now to what they were two years ago, then look at your RRSP account. Nothing has even come close to real estate value increases in a five year ..(read more)

Real Estate Values in Saskatoon

Mike Gustus - Gustus Group — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 11:45:00 GMT

According to the Canadian Real Estate Association, the Canadian market is stabilizing. This is shown by the new listings to sales ratio across the country. The Bank of Canada rate is expected to keep rates low, and mortgage rates with the Canadian chartered banks seem to be holding. The charted banks, however, have not passed the recent rate adjustments lower by Bank of Canada on to Canadians. International financial problems have had an impact on the Canadian mortgages market. For many home buyers, it is harder to get a mortgage. So buyers want to make sure their credit strength, down payment, and debt servicing ability is very good.

Although the Calgary and Edmonton residential real estate prices have dropped in comparison to last year, Saskatoon is showing a 23% increase over last year on average. This is encouraging. We are getting renewed interest in viewings, especially in the $350,000.00 ..(read more)

Saskatoon Real Estate Market Update

Mike Gustus - Gustus Group — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 22:14:00 GMT

The September statistics reflect what we have been advising clients for quite some time. Unit sales activity has dropped substantially in most areas. Area 1 (East of circle drive) units sales are down 10% for the month and down 13% YTD. Area 2 (Circle drive to the river) are off by 4% for the month and 12% YTD. Area 3 (The north end of the city) are down 36% for the month and 14% YTD. Area 4 ( The area between Idylwilde Dr and Circle Drive West) are down by 53% for month and 43% YTD.

The west end of the city Area 5 is the only area that unit sales are up by 10% for the month and down 3% YTD. First-time home buyers are moving to the less expensive neighbourhoods on the west side in the family-friendly areas. The bedroom communities and acreage markets down even more. With ..(read more)

Residential Real Estate Inventories Rise.

Mike Gustus - Gustus Group — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 09:02:00 GMT

Mike’s Market Update for August 2008

The inventory in Saskatoon and surrounding area grew again in August. In some areas, the number of properties listed were up by 58% from August 2007. The total residential inventory on the market at the end of August was 2700, of which 1676 were in the city itself, and 905 being in surrounding areas. This is the highest inventory I have seen in my 17 years in the industry.

The Saskatoon Housing Market:

The list to sell ratio on the East Side areas was 24% in August. This means that 24% of the properties listed were actually sold. In Area 2, the ratio was 29%, in Area 3 it was 27%. The ratios in Areas 4 and 5 were little higher, at 30%. The average length of time it took to sell a property stretched to 38 days. This is an increase of 23 days compared ..(read more)

Saskatoon Real Estate Prices

Mike Gustus - Gustus Group — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 15:39:00 GMT

Merrill Lynch real estate analysts have some Saskatoon home owners pretty upset these days. Their statement that the Saskatoon real estate market is overpriced by 50% is amazing. Where these guys get their formulas is beyond me. If this statement were valid it would mean that houses in Saskatoon were overpriced prior to the move up in 2007. Other reports prior to 2007 stated that Saskatoon’s market was undervalued compared to the rest of Canada.

We do know that we are going through a market correction in Saskatoon. The inventories continue to rise. The buyers are resistant to paying the present prices. At the same time the sellers are resisting selling at lower prices. This standoff is continuing. Unit sales in July were off by about 18% compared to the same month in 2007. I expect that we will see a settling of prices over the coming months, until inventories start to decline, but nothing close to the Merrill Lynch numbers. "Strong economic fundamentals, ..(read more)

Saskatoon Real Estate: Understanding a Changing Market.

Mike Gustus - Gustus Group — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 12:28:00 GMT

The Saskatoon market is moving through the opposite stages compared to last year in the spring. We are moving from the sellers market of last spring to a balanced market - to a buyers market today. Why am I saying this? The number of active listings on the market in July 08 compared to July 07 is up 249% in the city, and 224% in the surrounding areas. We now have 2892 listings on the market in and around Saskatoon, 1497 of these are in the city itself. We may be following the pattern of Edmonton and Calgary. If this is the case we can expect to see a further tightening of the market. This situation is puzzling, as our Saskatchewan economy is strong in all economic areas. This tightening is causing sellers to be frustrated with the lack of activity and the lethargic attitude of buyers. The buyers have so much to choose from that the sense of urgency simply is not there. The buyers have developed a wait and see attitude. They are waiting to see if the price will come down ..(read more)

Saskatoon Real Estate: Still a Good Investment?

Mike Gustus - Gustus Group — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 15:36:00 GMT

I was reading the paper this morning and came across a letter to the editor that had some interesting comments regarding Saskatoon’s real estate market. The writer stated that it is not a good time to purchase real estate in Saskatoon. He states that the market is dropping and will continue to drop up to 20%.

It always amazes me that when people who are not ..(read more)

Saskatoon Real Estate Market: Watching The Trends - Mike Gustus RE/MAX MLS ®

Mike Gustus - Gustus Group — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 08:12:00 GMT

The Canadian Dollar has been trending up with higher oil prices. This makes real estate and other Canadian commodities, relatively more expensive to buyers outside the country. Local and provincial economic activity is still strong, with a positive relationship between the Loonie and the export commodities we produce. However, it is the new people and capital that we attract to Saskatchewan that drives economic growth. The Saskatoon housing market has largely shrugged off an unexpected decline in June housing starts, with the Bank of Canada Rate at 3% and the Prime-lending rate approximately 4.75%. My expectations are for a more balanced market and for Saskatoon to remain a leader in the Canadian economy.

When real estate transactions are to take place, there a few new things that have to be considered. New federal laws and regulations dealing with money laundering and anti-terrorist financing went into effect June 23rd, ..(read more)

Saskatoon Real Estate Market: What is changing?

Mike Gustus - Gustus Group — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 08:49:00 GMT

Drastic changes are taking place in the Saskatoon market place. YTD unit sales for single family dwellings are down by 35% compared to last year. Dollar sales volume is down 18%. This reflects the higher prices this year. The highest sales volume category is $250,000. to $400,000., again reflecting the higher prices in our market place.

Inventories are up by as much as 80% in some areas, the far West being the most extreme. In May the sales volumes were down 24% in area 1, 33% area 2, 39% area 3, 62% area 4, 27% area 5. The number of listings on the market within the city at the end of May was 1144. If the surrounding area bedroom communities and acreages are included, the total number of listings on the market was 1667. This has changed things for the buyers. There is no longer ..(read more)

The Saskatoon Housing Market Is Still Moving Forward.

Mike Gustus - Gustus Group — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 08:24:00 GMT

Saskatchewan home sales will benefit from an influx of people moving to the province. Saskatoon is a hub for business activity that has been attracting people from all over North America and the world. According to Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) President Cal Lindberg, the Canadian resale housing market is on a distinctly different path than the market in the United States. Canada has a strong currency and a rather large federal budget surplus due to a rich commodity based economy. However the housing slump in the U.S. could drag Canadian real estate down with it. We know that many variables between the two countries are
shared, and that U.S. housing ..(read more)

A Changing Real Estate Market Means You Must Look Closer At The Details.

Mike Gustus - Gustus Group — Tue, 20 May 2008 11:40:00 GMT

The market in Saskatoon is going through a change once again. The stats YTD show that we are experiencing a drop of up to 20% in the number of units sold. I don?t think this is alarming, considering the huge gains we experienced in 2007. In some areas, prices are up as much as 60% over a year ago, and a good house under $100,000 is a hard find in the Saskatoon market. This applies to houses that are in dire need of repairs as well. The good side of this is that some of the previously undersirable areas are now being populated by young families or people that take pride in their homes. This has created wonderful improvements to our neighbourhoods.

As the prices rise lenders are getting more creative in their lending practices. Rates are coming down some, as well as amortization periods are now being stretched to 40 years. Something us older folks shake our heads at. We also never expected to see home equity grow by 50% in a year ..(read more)

Is The Housing Boom Over?

Mike Gustus - Gustus Group — Mon, 05 May 2008 10:37:00 GMT

As I talk with buyers and sellers everyday, inevitably people ask me "Mike, how long is this market going to last?" Sales of existing homes fell 6.8 per cent to 117,051 units in the first quarter of 2008 compared with the previous quarter, the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) said last week. The figures were the third consecutive quarterly decline since activity peaked in the second quarter last year. We know that 2007 was a record year for MLS residential property sales in Canada. Saskatchewan had the biggest price increases in the country over the past year. In some Saskatoon and Regina areas house prices jumped over 50%, according to CREA President Cal Lindberg.

What these statistics indicate is that the residential housing market is moving back towards more historically normal levels. The reason that Saskatoon has seen such dramatic price increases is that prices were previously quite low compared to the rest of ..(read more)

Interpreting the Real Estate Economy

Gustus Group - Mike Gustus — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 14:39:00 GMT

Saskatoon real estate has not cooled off like most Canadian cities. We have seen prices level off especially in the $500,000 and up range. While the market is good all across the price curve, I would caution sellers not to have too high expectations if you are putting your house on the market. Inventories are rising, as normal for this time of the year. There is sufficient competition in the market that buyers are starting to be a little more cautious. Multiple offers are rare in the mid to upper ranges. Entry level housing is now in the $200,000. plus range. Saskatoon still has few houses that one can just move into in the $150,000. range no matter what area the buyer is prepared to move to. I see no need to be alarmed if prices moderate - It just means ..(read more)

Are Real Estate Prices Going Another Storey Higher?

Gustus Group - Mike Gustus — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 08:34:00 GMT

How long will this trend continue? There are varied opinions on this. I believe that we are flattening off in the higher price ranges. That is East side $400,000. plus, and West side $300,000. and up. I have noticed that on the specific time offers presented listings (that means when a property is listed on Monday, with all offers present at 3 PM on Friday, as an example)there are some listings now that have no offers by the specified time. This tells me that we do not have the sense of urgency by the buyer that we did last year. I believe we are now dealing with home buyers for the most part. Not speculators. These buyers have price ceilings mostly based on mortgage qualifying and concerns about overpaying. Does this mean the move up is over? I don’t think so, but I do think that it means that we are going to see a more conservative buyer that is uncomfortable with a bidding war. Feel free to comment, or ask questions.

(read more)

Demand for houses in Saskatoon remains strong.

Gustus Group - Mike Gustus — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 11:32:00 GMT

Across the country, residential real estate prices have been climbing. The biggest gains were posted in Saskatoon, which recorded a staggering 51.7-per cent increase as a flood of one-time Saskatchewan residents cashed out of the Alberta housing market and returned home to a bustling economy that is benefiting from high prices for wheat, oil and gas.

According to Richard Corriveau, a Calgary-based economist with Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) Saskatchewan “had experienced 20 consecutive years of migratory losses, and 2007 recorded a remarkable turnaround,” Year-end numbers have yet to be tallied, but preliminary figures indicate that migration to Saskatchewan in 2007 will set a new record high. Many of those people are looking for jobs and housing, only to find that the resale housing market in certain areas, especially Saskatoon, is hard to find.

Year-over-year housing ..(read more)