Average Price of a Sask. Home Rises

The average price of a Saskatchewan home rose four per cent in May to $242,829, driven up by increases in four cities, the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) reported Monday.

While Saskatoon resale homes were down seven per cent from last May to an average $279,477, the average price in Regina jumped 12 per cent to $263,424.

Record average prices for existing homes were also posted in Yorkton, Swift Current and Prince Albert, said Gregory Klump, CREA's chief economist.

Some downward pressure on the Saskatoon price has come from an oversupply of homes on the market in recent months. However, the number of Saskatoon listings fell (from May 2008) nearly 30 per cent  in May to 721, while sales crept up 1.4 per cent to 372, CREA reported.

Klump noted sales in Saskatoon are consistent with several years before the run-up in activity that started in late 2006.

"It's returned to stable activity," said Klump in an interview.

"You're only down when you compare it to that record run-up in activity, which I don't anticipate in the near future," said Klump. "I do anticipate sales will remain steady at your current levels."

The total value of existing homes sold in Saskatoon was $104 million, down six per cent from last May. Regina's dollar volume was $102 million, up 21.6 per cent from last year.

CREA said Canada's resale housing market activity returned to pre-recession levels in May, led by an increase in some of the nation's more expensive markets. Seasonally adjusted sales rose in approximately 70 per cent of local markets.

The national average sale price of multiple listing service (MLS) homes reached a record $319,757, up four-tenths of a per cent from last May.

Klump said CREA does not anticipate a crash to follow the improvement. CREA believes Canada will not see the kind of price correction experienced in the United States because this country did not have the run-up in prices or the kind of speculative activity seen in the U.S.

Regina broker Dale Ripplinger, president of CREA, said sales activity is closer to the pre-recession peak than the trough hit in January.

Improving consumer confidence, low interest rates and improved affordability are bringing buyers into the market across the country, he said.