The number of active residential listings in the Battlefords through the Multiple Listing Service at the end of October was 163, comparable to 2016, but a 57 per cent increase from last year’s total of 104, says the Saskatoon Region Association of Realtors, of which the Realtors of the Battlefords is a member.
SRAR says this year to date, there have been 419 residential listings for the Battlefords, which is a two per cent increase compared with last year.
Total residential MLS listings for the Battlefords and region so far this year number 1,090, down four per cent for the same period last year.
In October there was a total of 10 residential home sales in the Battlefords, a 23 per cent decline and a total of 29 sales for the entire region, a four per cent increase.
Total year to date residential transactions totaled 148 units for the Battlefords, a 20 per cent decrease compared to the same period last year. For the entire Battlefords region, the number of residential MLS sales to the end of October was 320, down 12 per cent from 2017.
“Due to the higher inventory levels and a decline in sales, currently it would take over twelve months to liquidate all active listings,” says Jason Yochim, CEO of the SRAR. “Having said that, in any market there are buyers who are ready, willing and qualified to buy but only if they believe a home is priced to the current market,” he adds.
Residential dollar volume is down 16 per cent for Battlefords and Region with just over $70 million in total volume year to date. This compares with nearly $84 million in 2017. In the two communities, the average year to date residential sale price of $237,545 represents a 2 per cent increase compared to last year. The average residential selling price for the region was up 2 per cent over last year at $211,219.
Although the average price is commonly referred to as a gauge for the market, it can be easily skewed from one period to the next depending on which price ranges had the most sales in the period, says SRAR.
Currently the average time to sell a home in the Battlefords and region is 71.3 days, considerably above the five-year average. The homes that are selling are realizing almost 95 per cent of the asking price, consistent with the past number of years.
The sales to listing ratio is a measure of the number of sales against the number of new listings for a specified period of time. This ratio for October in the Battlefords was 34 per cent, the lowest October ratio in the past several years. A sales to listing ratio below 50 per cent is considered to reflect a buyers’ market and in this case a very solid buyers’ market.
