Saskatoon reports modest price increases across housing types surveyed in third quarter

Despite highest inventory in five years, home prices remain steady

SASKATOON, Oct. 15, 2014 /CNW/ - The Royal LePage House Price Survey released today showed modest price appreciation for all housing types surveyed.

The average price of standard two storey homes in Saskatoon saw the largest growth, with an increase of 2.1 per cent year-over-year to $408,250. Meanwhile, standard condominiums increased 0.8 per cent to $257,000 while detached bungalows rose 0.7 per cent to 368,750. 

"Demand from buyers overall has been very strong all quarter," said Norm Fisher, Associate Broker with Royal LePage Saskatoon. "However, we have seen a surplus of available inventory in the market this quarter, and active listings have reached a five-year high. This has led us to a fairly balanced market for the housing types we report on and explains why the busy market has seen only tempered price appreciation."

According to Fisher, Saskatoon currently has an exceptionally strong market in terms of how many homes are trading hands, which should lead to a record year in terms of unit sales. "The market is being driven by great employment rates in the city combined with continuing low interest rates," he added.

Nationally, the average price of a home in Canada rose between 4.4 per cent and 6.1 per cent year-over-year in the third quarter of 2014. According to Royal LePage, the average price of a standard two-storey home rose 5.5 per cent to $441,714, while detached bungalows increased 6.1 per cent to $405,101.  Condominiums on average showed slightly lower year-over-year gains, posting a 4.4. per cent increase to $257,377.

"In the seven years since the Canadian housing market began its recovery from the worldwide recession, home price growth has been robust, often greater than the long-term average of approximately five per cent," said Phil Soper, president and chief executive of Royal LePage. "We are now experiencing a natural slowing in the rate of year-over-year price appreciation, with real estate markets moderating in most parts of the country, a transition to what our agents  refer to as a 'Goldilocks market,' one that is neither too hot, nor too cold. To be clear, we expect home prices to continue to grow in the months ahead, but at a slower rate than we have seen in recent years."

About the Royal LePage House Price Survey

The Royal LePage House Price Survey is the largest, most comprehensive study of its kind in Canada, with information on seven types of housing in over 250 neighbourhoods from coast to coast. This release references an abbreviated version of the survey which highlights house price trends for the three most common types of housing in Canada in 90 communities across the country. A complete database of past and present surveys is available on the Royal LePage website at www.royallepage.ca. Current figures will be updated following the complete tabulation of the data for the third quarter of 2014. A printable version of the third quarter 2014 survey will be available online on November 12, 2014. Housing values in the Royal LePage House Price Survey are Royal LePage opinions of fair market value in each location, based on local data and market knowledge provided by Royal LePage residential real estate experts.

About Royal LePage

Serving Canadians since 1913, Royal LePage is the country's leading provider of services to real estate brokerages, with a network of over 15,000 real estate professionals in over 600 locations nationwide. Royal LePage is the only Canadian real estate company to have its own charitable foundation, the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation, dedicated to supporting women's and children's shelters and educational programs aimed at ending domestic violence. Royal LePage is a Brookfield Real Estate Services Inc. company, a TSX-listed corporation trading under the symbol TSX:BRE.

For more information visit: www.royallepage.com.  

SOURCE Royal LePage Limited