According to the Saskatoon Region Association of Realtors, of which the Realtors of the Battlefords are members, residential sales in the Battlefords declined in 2018.
In 2018, there was a total of 354 residential Multiple Listing Service home sales in the Battlefords and region, a 12 per cent decline from the 402 sales the year before. There were 166 residential MLS transactions recorded for the year representing a 22 per cent decline.
The number of annual home sales has been declining every year since 2014 when a total of 304 homes sold in the Battlefords.
The month of December was especially slow for sales with only five transactions compared to 15 residential MLS sales in December of 2017. The number of available homes for sale in the Battlefords at the end of December was 135 units, 45 per cent higher than the end of 2017, but equal to December 2016.
“The average days on market for a home in 2018 was 74 days compared to the five-year average of 66 days,” says Jason Yochim, CEO of the Saskatoon Region Association of Realtors. “The best way to shorten the time to sell is to be priced to the current market conditions,” adds Yochim. “Qualified expertise from a Realtor is key in that most critical pricing decision if a home is to sell.”
Residential dollar volume for the year in the Battlefords and region was down 16 per cent with just over $77 million in total volume. This compares with nearly $92 million in 2017 and $100 million in 2016. In the two communities, the average year to date residential sale price of $232,474 represents a 2 per cent increase compared to 2017. The average residential selling price for the region was up 1 per cent over last year at $206,522. 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.
At year’s end, there were 459 new residential listings on the MLS, which is a 2 per cent decrease compared to the previous year. Total residential MLS listings for the Battlefords and region to the end of the year was 1,214, down 4 per cent from 2017. When comparing the number of active listings to the number of sales for the year, it would have taken more than 12 months to completely liquidate the active inventory of homes. The homes that sold in 2018 realized 94.2 per cent of the asking price, consistent with the past number of years.
