Archive for February, 2009

The Media And Real Estate

Wednesday, February 25th, 2009

Just when I think that most of us have a grasp on the media and how they focus on the negativity I hear another person saying ‘well I heard in the news that…’ and they trust in it 100%. It is one thing for an ‘analyst’ to sit in his office across the country looking at data, but it is another to live here and to understand all of the facets of what affects our economy. People tend to focus on what is bad in the news and choose to look over the good. If we simply listened to the news that states that housing starts are down 69% from 2008 and focused on that point we would neglect to think about the fact that the housing starts in 2008 were at an all time high. These stats don’t really give an appropriate account for our market when the last part of 2007 and 2008 have thrown our numbers off. Certain people talk about sales declining, but Saskatoon home sales have seen a great increase in market activity so far in 2009 compared to the summer and fall of 2008 Although economists in Toronto still think that house prices will drop in Saskatchewan we have to keep in mind that they are in Toronto.

Between now and 2010 it is the best time to buy a house in Saskatoon. I believe that all of our excess inventory will tighten up once 2010 hits so that will mean a more balanced Saskatoon real estate market and a more gradual increase. There are others who are even more optimistic and believe that Saskatchewan hasn’t seen anything yet in terms of market growth and house sales in Saskatoon. 

Kari Calder
Saskatoon Real Estate Agent
Century 21 Conexus Realty Ltd.

Protectionism

Friday, February 20th, 2009

What is protectionism? It is the economic policy restraining trade between nations, through tariffs on imported goods, restrictive quotas and a variety of other regulations that are there to discourage importing. This contrasts with our “free trade” agreement and creates problems. I can understand why, in theory, President Obama wants to put this in place to stimulate the American Economy, but would it do more harm than good? It certainly shows a lot about the United States of America’s need to preserve themselves but doesn’t it show some disregard to the other nations that they have been dealing with for centuries? When the tough get going…the US puts on the brakes?

Should Canada get on the same train as the president of the United States? The huge economic stimulus plan was passed and is called a ‘good start’. He has made it his mission to stimulate the US economy and warns of a deepening financial crisis unless the bill is passed.

On February 14th, 2009 the G7 leaders rejected trade protectionism. They agreed that each needs to get their stimulus packages flowing as quickly as possible and to improve access to financing but the also cautioned against trade protectionism. It seems that any of these measures taken now would be regretted down the road and that was spoken by Canadian Finance Minister, Jim Flaherty. It is short sighted.

At the debut of US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, he assured his counterparts that President Barack Obama’s $787 billion US plan to resuscitate the economy, which has been approved, would not violate in any way the United State’s commitment to free trade.

Canada and the US have the world’s biggest trading relationship with more than $1.5 billion a day.

Kari Calder
Saskatoon Real Estate Agent
Century 21 Conexus Realty Ltd.

Potash Announces Layoffs – CBC Needs To Pay Attention As There Are Always Layoffs!

Friday, February 20th, 2009

Up to 1000 layoffs are possible at Potash Corp, however we have to keep in mind that this is a unionized entity and they have to forewarn of any possible layoffs and the reality of it may be a small fraction of this amount. Also that no one is permanently fired and these workers can collect some benefits when they are laid off.

At Potash Corp approximately one third of the employees that were given lay off notices have been working on maintenance and expansion projects although this has been pushed back. In another mine near Saskatoon, Agrium, they were set to lay off 380 employees but have already pushed this back by a month and it is very likely that it will continue to be pushed back.

You have to keep in mind that crown corporations and the Potash Corporation lays people off and rehires them all the time. It is part of the business. Most people in Saskatchewan understand that and realize that news sources such as CBC are uninformed but it is unfortunate that the news insists on focusing on the negative when they need to do more research before they try to drag a great booming Saskatchewan economy down with the rest of the world.

People need to eat so farmers will continue to buy potash which means that Saskatchewan will not be going down the toilet like all the doomsdayers want to believe. Houses in Saskatoon continue to sell and people continue to move to Saskatoon. 

Kari Calder
Saskatoon Real Estate Agent
Century 21 Conexus Realty Ltd.

Interest Rates-Lowest In 8 years!

Thursday, February 12th, 2009

This is a great time to lock into your mortgage with rates like these! Prime rate of 3% is a great way to stimulate the Canadian economy. Finally it is a great time to buy more house at a lower cost which is a very rare opportunity. There is definitely a window open to buyers to get into the Saskatoon real estate market right now that won’t be around forever. There are plenty of choices for home buyers in every price range of houses for sale in Saskatoon whereas even a year ago there was less than a quarter of the selection.

Just 2 years ago a buyer could not put a condition of financing on a home for sale in Saskatoon much less the condition of having a home inspection done, but that heat is over and now is a great and safe time to buy. Interest rates probably won’t go any lower! Prices of houses for sale in Saskatoon, however, will not stay soft forever. Prices seem to be stabilizing in the Saskatoon housing market now that many of the desperate sellers have sold their Saskatoon homes.

Kari Calder
Saskatoon Real Estate Agent
Century 21 Conexus Realty Ltd.

Saskatoon Real Estate Current Market – February 12, 2009

Thursday, February 12th, 2009

Despite a slow second half of the year for Saskatoon real estate in 2008 it appears that 2009 is starting out strong. In Saskatoon we have had 331 homes sold or with solid conditional offers on them between January 1st and February 12th, 2009. This is still very much a buyer’s market and we still have over 1100 home listed MLS in Saskatoon, but people are starting to buy again after what seemed like a very long and dry time from August-December. Houses were still being sold in this period but with all of the inventory you barely noticed the sold signs. I think everyone has seen many more sold signs on Saskatoon homes in the past 2.5 months than they did for the previous 4 months.

This is a great time to get in and buy for the first time or to purchase revenue properties or to ‘move up’ if you are looking to increase the size of your home. I believe by 2010 our market will be completely balanced again as the inventory will be cleaned up. We can then expect an increase in house prices in Saskatoon, although overly optimistic people think that things will go up earlier than that with our still strong Saskatchewan economy. But that is just my opinion and feeling!

If you have any questions or comments about the Saskatoon real estate market feel free to contact me at anytime!

Kari Calder
Saskatoon Real Estate Agent
Century 21 Conexus Realty Ltd

Saskatoon Housing Starts

Wednesday, February 11th, 2009

Housing starts in the month of January 2009 were down significantly from 2008 according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp (CMHC). New construction is down 69% from last year with only 21 single-detached homes in the Saskatoon area and only 12 multi-family units down from 134 multi-family starts in January 2008.

Paul Caton, CMHC’s senior market analyst for Saskatchewan, states that Saskatoon housing starts are likely to be down for the bulk of the year for 2 reasons. The first is the high level of inventory already on the market causing Saskatoon home builders to hold back until demand for new homes rises. The other very important factor to consider is that the housing starts in Saskatoon for the entire year of 2009 will be compared to the robust starts of 2008. The year 2008 saw record breaking construction starts in Saskatoon so this throws off our statistics. If we are to compare 2009 with 2006/2007 we will see that the Saskatoon housing market is still strong. So while it appears like a decline when compared to 2008, it is actually still very strong.

At the end of January we did see 1156 houses for sale in the city of Saskatoon. The average price for a home in Saskatoon in January was $278,645. This is up from January, 2008 despite a slow fall. From the month of January until February 10th we have seen 308 firm sales or conditional sales in Saskatoon and even more in the surrounding areas.

There are still a lot of homes for sale in Saskatoon and a lot to choose from which means it is still a buyer’s market, but a lot of the product that had been sitting for months is now selling. Combined with the ultra low interest rates and the abundance of product now is a great time to buy a house in Saskatoon. If you need help in buying a home in Saskatoon or want some information on listing your home in Saskatoon, contact your Century 21 Agent Kari Calder.

Thank you!