New property listed in Rosewood, Saskatoon

Happy New Year everyone! I’m sure we aren’t the only ones who are happy to welcome 2021 with open arms.
In our last market update we predicted that early 2021 would bring reduced inventories and a strong sellers market in Saskatoon. We want to share with you, if our predictions were right and what this means to you as a buyer or seller.
We ended 2020 with a very strong month in the Saskatoon Real Estate Market. There were 274 home sales in December, which means that sales were up 35% for the month compared to December of 2019, which only saw 203 home sales. That’s 71 more sales during this time.
In December, we also saw 347 new listings posted to the MLS, which means listings were up 14% for the month compared to December of 2019, which only saw 304 listings posted.
The average sale price in Saskatoon right now is $345,358 which is up 3.4% compared to December 2019.
As we predicted in our last market update, inventories are at an all time low. Back in December, we predicted there could be as low as 899 active listings in Saskatoon as of January 2, 2021. We were pretty close with our prediction… because as of January 4th there are 940 active listings in Saskatoon.
The reason we are experiencing this low inventory, is because of a high volume of home sales compared to the number of new listings. Even though we saw more listings in December this year than last year, it still isn’t keeping up with the number of sales in Saskatoon.
472 of those are single family homes, 272 are apartment style condos and 196 are townhouse style condos. Out of the 472 single family homes listed, 272 are on the eastside and 200 are on the westside.
We wanted to break this down for you to demonstrate, for example, that if you are thinking of selling a single family home on the eastside of Saskatoon, you would only be competing against 272 other homes on the eastside. This number would get even smaller when you start to narrow down other criteria such as neighbourhood, home style, number of bedrooms and baths etc…
What this means is that right now listings are like GOLD. This is the time to get your home on the market. There is no reason to hesitate or wait for the spring market. With the extremely low interest rates available, there are many motivated buyers actively searching for homes in Saskatoon right now.
Based on the current market conditions you will want to rely on us as your Realtors to guide you through this limited inventory. We have a wide network of contacts in Saskatoon who we rely on to get the most up to date listing information that we will share with you.
As always, if you would like some more information, or are interested in buying or selling a home, reach out to us and we would be happy to help.
We’ve made it to the last month of 2020, and what a crazy year it has been. Looking back over the last 12 months it feels like we’ve been on a crazy roller coaster ride. This is especially true when you review the past year in the Saskatoon real estate market.
2020 started out pretty strong from January through March and then when COVID-19 hit in April, it felt like the market came to a standstill. At that time, we weren’t sure what the rest of the year in real estate might look like in Saskatoon.
After another slow month in May, I don’t think either of us could have predicted the rocket-like trajectory the market would take for the rest of the year.
The month of June kicked off the strong market in Saskatoon and it continued to get stronger each month after that. Our monthly sales were consistently and significantly higher in comparison to the sales in 2019.
This past month was no exception. There were 358 sales in November 2020 compared to 243 sales in November of 2019. This is 115 more sales which means sales are up +47.3% for the month and +17.1% for the year.
Looking forward, what can we expect in 2021? There is no precise, crystal ball that can predict the future, but we are feeling confident that Saskatoon's strong market will continue into the new year.
I think one of the main things we are predicting in the first couple of months of 2021 will be a reduced inventory of listings in the market.
There are currently 1123 active listings in Saskatoon. 625 are single family homes, 498 are condos, of which 275 of those are apartment style.
Between now and January 2, 347 of those listings are expected to expire. Some of those expired listings may be renewed, but if we base our projections on historical info from 2019, we can likely expect 207 home sales and 330 new listings in December 2020.
When you do the math, this means there could be as few as 899 active listings as of Jan 2. We believe this number is aggressively low, and we expect listings to be higher than this, because of the strong market and low interest rates.
We believe this means that listings are going to be like GOLD in the first couple of months of 2021. Historically, spring is thought to be the start of the busy season in real estate in Saskatoon. Although, the past year has proven that you shouldn’t expect things to be status quo.
Moving into 2021, If you have a home to sell, we strongly feel that there is no reason to wait until spring to get your home on the market, as listings will be in very high demand, especially for single family homes.
If you’re looking to buy a home in early 2021, you will want to rely on your Realtor to guide you through the limited inventory. As Realtors, we receive hourly updates when new listings go on the market, which is considerably faster than commonly used websites and apps that may only update every 24 hours or more. We also have a wide network of contacts in Saskatoon who we rely on to get the most up to date listing information, sometimes even before a home hits the MLS.
So as always, if you have any questions please reach out to either of us, we would be happy to help. From our families to yours, we hope you have a very Merry Christmas and we hope to see you in the New Year.
Should I Refinance My Mortgage?
I think we can safely say that 2020 has been a strange year. A year of lockdowns due to a pandemic, financial support from the government, and the lowest interest rates in recent history. This has led to a rise in the number of homeowners who are considering refinancing their mortgage. According to a recent poll, approximately 20% of Canadian homeowners say they plan to refinance their mortgage in the next 12 months.
Like all financial decisions, it’s important to look at the bigger picture, which includes reviewing your goals.
First Things First -- What’s a refinance?
A refinance alters the terms and conditions of your mortgage – it’s essentially a new mortgage. Specifically, you are increasing the amount of your mortgage, whether to pay off consumer debt, finance a renovation, invest, or to get a lower rate.
Here are a few reasons to opt for a refinance:
Repayment – What You Need To Know
Borrowing against your property is not free money – it’s a mortgage loan -- and like any other loan, it has to be repaid.
Speak to a Professional to Understand Your Options
There are many factors to consider before deciding to refinance. Each individual’s financial situation is different. Let’s talk about your unique situation and the options available to you.
Call Deb Murdoch today!
Deb Murdoch
The Mortgage Group
306.222.7900
debm@mortgagegroup.com