Home sales slide 22% in Saskatoon during November

Home sales in Saskatoon were off 22 per cent in November compared to a year ago as the city slides further into a buyers’ market.

The Saskatoon Region Association of Realtors (SRAR) said 203 properties were sold during the month.

SRAR said transactions for the year total 3,167 units, its lowest level in 10 years, and off 25 per cent from the record high of 4,203 sales by the end of November 2014.

Along with the decline in sales is a decline in listings. SRAR said as of the end of November, there was 7,646 listings for the year, a 12 per cent decline from a year ago.

There were 1,716 active listings at the end of November, and SRAR said it would take just over eight months to liquidate the current inventory level at current sales rates.

“The months of inventory has been steadily increasing from 3.8 months in November of 2012,” said SRAR CEO Jason Yochim.

“Even though homes in November were selling at 96.2 per cent of the asking price, it still took two months for the average home to sell in Saskatoon.

SRAR said the current sales to listing ratio in Saskatoon is 38 per cent, making it a buyers’ market.

Benchmark prices for most homes continued to fluctuate, according to figures released by SRAR.

The benchmark price for a single-family home was $310,900 in November, off 0.5 per cent from the previous month, but up 0.8 per cent from a year ago.

Townhouse prices continue to fall, with the benchmark at $220,900 for the month, down 0.9 per cent from October 2018 and down 3.1 per cent year-over-year.

Apartment-style condos continue to rebound slightly, with the benchmark up 0.7 per cent to $181,300.