If you’re thinking about selling your home in Saskatoon but don’t have to, you might want to hang tight.
The number of home sales recorded across the country dropped by 2.9 per cent in the month of April to the lowest level seen in more than five years.
According to the Canadian Real Estate Association, the number of homes sold across the country also fell by 14 per cent from March to April of this year.
It appears Saskatoon’s market is slowly warming this spring, with recorded activity increasing 6.7 per cent in April reversing a two-month trend of declines.
“It did impact our market, those mortgage rule changes. The economy is still having some impact but we still have a 40 per cent to listing ratio which has been consistent for some time now,” said Jason Yochim, CEO of Saskatoon Region Association of REALTORS®.
Currently, there are 1,800 homes in the area on the market.
Dustin Ratzlaff’s home sold in two months but he admits he and his wife listed it for lower than they were expecting to and didn’t get their asking price of $379,000.
“It definitely is a buyers’ market right now, working through that was a big challenge for my wife and I and resetting our expectations.”
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Kent Braaten, the couple’s realtor with CENTURY 21 Fusion, says it could have been sold a lot sooner.
“We had an offer on it three weeks in but the problem was the buyers couldn’t sell their home.”
A situation not uncommon to our market these days with Braaten adding that there’s no urgency for buyers when it comes to putting in an offer and that they’re shopping around.
On the seller side, they’re left between a rock and a hard place and facing some difficult decisions ahead.
“I think any of us that own a home, we always want to sell it for more than we paid for it but in not every case is that possible,” Yochim said.
Condos, for example, he said are selling for a lot less than they were four to five years ago and homes in Saskatoon on average are selling within 40 to 50 days.
“Time on market matters, the longer your home sits on the market the more of a disadvantage you’re at,” Ratzlaff said.
“I think being realistic and sort’ve accepting the current market conditions is important for sellers.”
Experts say in every market, there’s always potential buyers but in order to sell your home, it has to be at the right price and if you haven’t already, get some advice.
“Hire a professional — there are a lot of great companies, a lot of great realtors in this city and a lot of advice,” Braaten said.
“I think people think they know but don’t actually know until they get some education on the topic.”
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