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Total residential listings up, sales for region down year-over-year

Nov 13, 2018 | 4:00 PM

Due to higher inventory levels and a decline in sales, it would take over 12 months to liquidate all active residential property listings in the Battlefords.

That comes according to comments from CEO Jason Yochim in the latest report from the Saskatoon Region Association of Realtors (SRAR) on home sales in the region.

In October, there was a total of just 10 residential sales in the Battlefords valued at $2.3 million, a 23 per cent decline to date, but 29 in the entire region, a four per cent uptick. 

Year-to-date residential sales totalled 148 for the Battlefords, a 20 per cent decrease compared to the same period last year, according to the report. For the entire region, the number of sales to the end of October was 320, down 12 per cent from 2017.

The number of active residential listings in the Battlefords through MLS at the end of October was 163, which is comparable to 2016, but a 57 per cent increase from last year’s total of 104. 

Year-to-date, there have been 419 listings for the City of North Battleford and the Town of Battleford, a two per cent increase over 2017. Total listings for the entire region so far this year is 1,090, down four per cent.

Despite the rise in inventory and slowing of sales, Yochim said, “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.”

The total value of homes sold in the Battlefords and surrounding area is down 16 per cent to just $70 million, compared to nearly $84 million in 2017. In both communities, the average year to date residential sale price of $237,545 represents a two per cent uptick over last year. Likewise, the average residential selling price for the wider region was up two per cent from 2017 at $211,219.

The average time to sell a home in the region is well above the five-year average at 71.3 days, but are selling for nearly 95 per cent of the asking price, which, according to the report is consistent with the past number of years. 

The sales to listing ratio, which measures the number of sales to new listings for a specified period, was 34 per cent in October, which represent a “very solid” buyer’s market.

 

tyler.marr@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @JournoMarr