2021 started off with a very busy real estate market in Saskatoon. We want to share why we think this means it's the perfect time to sell your home in Saskatoon, and what you need to know about the real estate market right now as a buyer.

Sales volumes and average sales prices have steadily increased and home inventories have continued to stay low in Saskatoon. Let’s take a look at the stats.

In April, there were 550 home sales which represents a staggering increase in sales of +159% compared to April 2020 where we only saw 213 sales. But keep in mind that this number is highly exaggerated as our real estate market was heavily impacted by the start of the COVID-19 pandemic last April and this skews the numbers dramatically. To get a more accurate sense of how the market is doing, we should compare the home sales from April 2021 to home sales from April 2019, where we saw 380 sales, which is an increase of +45.5% compared to 2021. This is still a significant increase and demonstrates how strong the market is performing.

Inventories have also stayed fairly low over the last several months due to high sales volumes, but we have seen an increasing number of listings being added to the MLS. There are currently approximately 1400 active listings on the MLS. There were 958 new listings posted in April which is up +96.3% compared to April 2020, where we only saw 470 new listings. But again, to get a more realistic picture, we should actually compare these numbers to April 2019 where we saw 777 new listings posted which compared to April 2021, is only an increase of +23.3%.

We’ve also seen a consistent surge in home prices over the last several months. In January, we started the year with an average sales price of $348,352, then $353,542 in February, $362,222 in March, and then in April it was up to $372,532. April’s average sales price is an increase of almost +8.3% YTD compared to April 2020 and an increase of +10.4% YTD compared to April 2019.

So...after several consistent months of these HOT market conditions, what does this mean for you right now as a buyer or seller?

It means that it is an IDEAL time to sell your home in Saskatoon. The combination of elevated average sales prices, extremely high sales volumes and low listing inventories has created the perfect storm for sellers. Especially, if you have a home that fits into a couple of specific categories in the market.

Homes between 350K - 500K are in VERY short supply right now with a 1.7 months supply. Anything below a 3 months supply is considered to be a sellers market in that price range. We are consistently seeing homes in this range sell extremely quickly and with multiple offers. If you have a home to sell in this price range, do not hesitate because NOW is the time to get it on the market. It will sell fairly quickly.

In April, there were 90 homes sold between 500K - 750K. This is a historically high volume of sales in this price range. If you’ve been waiting for the right time to sell your home in this price range, NOW is the time to take the leap and get it on the market.

We are optimistic that this hot market will likely continue over the next couple of spring/summer months, but once things start returning to normal with more and more vaccinations, and temperatures start to drop in the fall, it's hard to predict if these market conditions will be able to continue. So to reiterate NOW is the time to get your home listed!

Now more than ever before, with the market as hot as it is right now, it’s important to rely on a realtor you trust for guidance.

For buyers, we have been seeing multiple offer situations, and some homes selling over ask. We can help guide you in the offer process to ensure you have the best chance of getting the home you want, when you find it.

For sellers, in this vibrant market, we will help you create an effective strategy for marketing, pricing, and negotiations, as transactions aren’t as cut and dry as they might have been before.

As always, if you would like any information on buying or selling your home, or about the real estate market in general in Saskatoon, don’t hesitate to contact either of us.

Thanks again and see you next month!

IMPENDING MORTGAGE RULE CHANGES

OSFI (Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions) has propose a change to the uninsured stress test rate. OSFI regulates and supervises more than 400 federally regulated financial institutions (80% of all mortgage lenders). They do not watch over provincial credit unions and private lenders. OSFI reports to parliament through the Minister of Finance and regulates the conventional space.

Proposed change - Effective June 1st the qualifying rate for conventional (uninsured) mortgages will be based on a stress test of 5.25%

Note that Department of Finance regulates insured mortgages who currently have a stress test rate of 4.79%

Timeline - On May 7th the public was invited to provide feedback to the change. By May 24th the feedback will be taken into consideration and the final amendments will be made. As of June 1st the changes will take effect.

What does this mean to clients?

• If you have a signed accepted offer dated prior to June 1, 2021, your mortgage broker can submit and qualify using 4.79% It will not matter when the closing date is or if its insured or uninsured.

• If you have a signed accepted offer dated June 1st or later, your mortgage broker will be qualifying you using 5.25% on conventional files (20% + down payment) and 4.79% on insured files (***this may change) We are hearing whispers that the insured files will be changing to the 5.25% stress test as well but have had no confirmation of it as of yet.

When looking at the numbers and running the scenarios, there will be approximately a 5% decline in buying power.

So for instance: Teacher & research assistant have a combined income of $143K
Today: 4.79% conventional @ 30 yr AM – would qualify for $735K
June 1: 5.25% conventional @ 30 yr AM – would qualify for $700K

If you have any questions please feel free to reach out to me.