Regina Housing Market Update - March 2011

New Price Highs Set

Posted: April 4, 2011

Sales through the Regina and area MLS® System were down in March and for the first quarter of the year from 2010, but were in line with market levels for the past few years, said the Association of Regina REALTORS® Inc.

For the entire MLS® System, including all geographic areas 316 sales were reported in March, down 10% from 2010 when 350 sales occurred.

 There have been 767 sales recorded for the year-to-date, down 4% from 2010’s 798 but well ahead of the 677 sales reported in 2009.

The average price for March sales of $275,431 set a new high for the month. It was up 10% over the previous high set in 2010 of $250,826. In the city, the average price was $279,911, up 9% over last year’s $255,927. Three of the five MLS® geographic areas in the city recorded an average price of over $300,000 during the month.

The YTD average price for all geographic areas was $270,128, a new high and up 7% over the previous record set in 2010 of $252,979. The YTD price in the city was $274,730, up 8% over 2010’s $253,802.

Due the decrease in the number of sales, the monthly total dollar sales volume of $87.0M was slightly below the all-time high of $87.8 posted in 2010 despite higher prices. YTD volume set $207.2M set a new high for the first quarter, and was up 3% over last year’s $201.9M.

During the month, homes sold were on the market for an average of 36 days before selling at an average of 97.3% of the asking price.

For all MLS® System geographic areas there were 1,166 active listings on the market at the end of March, including 698 in the city. This compares to 1,075 active listings at the end of February. There were 569 new listings placed on the MLS® System during the month, down 19% over last year’s 701.

“Despite sales being down for the month and the quarter, we began to see the uptick that normally takes place in the late winter-early spring market. March recorded the largest number of sales in several months, homes sold faster and at a higher percentage of asking price, particularly in the city,” said Gord Archibald, Executive Officer of the Association of Regina REALTORS® Inc.

“Job and population growth continue to buoy the market as we enter the busy second quarter of the year when the weather is more conducive and there are more buyers in the market looking for summer possession dates,” concluded Archibald.

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