Saskatoon Real Estate

During the past year market conditions have improved vastly for first time home buyers in Saskatoon. While last year it was very hard to get into the market for first time buyers, this year it is easier to buy a house in Saskatoon as well as to get a good mortgage rate when buying a house in Saskatoon.

While last year the starting price for a 1 bedroom apartment style condo was around the $140,000 mark this year you can get into a 1 bedroom apartment style condo in Saskatoon for as little as $120,000. The house prices in Saskatoon peaked in the spring of 2008 and then went through a correction due to the high inventory of houses for sale in Saskatoon. New listings in Saskatoon went up to a record high in the summer of 2008 and due to that excess of inventory the house prices in Saskatoon dropped a bit. First time home buyers in Saskatoon should be taking advantage of the price decrease plus the incredible interest rates.

Certain communities in Saskatoon also allow for easier purchasing with first time home buyers in Saskatoon. On the west side, some of the favorable areas for first time home buyers are Mount Royal and Hudson Bay Park and on the east side of Saskatoon the favorable areas include Nutana and Avalon. These areas have more entry level homes than areas like Lakeview or Briarwood, but Nutana still has some very pricey homes due to its location close to the popular “Broadway” district and the downtown of Saskatoon.

Regina has also seen a correction in real estate prices down from 2008 and is also a favorable market for first time home buyers. A large number of houses for sale in Regina makes it a ‘buyers market’ and gives buyers the upper hand. Both Regina and Saskatoon are seeing a buyer’s market in 2009.

For more information on the Saskatoon real estate market be sure to contact me!

Kari Calder
Saskatoon Real Estate Agent
Century 21 Conexus Realty Ltd

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!