Glut of listings chills torrid Sask. housing market
03.07.2008 18:03
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- Source: cbc.ca
The mercury might be rising in Saskatchewan lately, but the housing market is showing distinct signs of cooling down, industry observers say. Amid a booming economy, house prices in Saskatchewan grew about 32 per cent last year and are projected to grow another 20 per cent this year. That's expected to be the biggest rise in Canada. However, there has been an "unprecedented" number of houses going on the market in Saskatchewan in recent weeks, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association. "Record numbers of new listings are creating more balanced resale housing markets in many centres, and nowhere has this trend been more evident than in Regina and Saskatoon," the association said in a news release last week. "These were two of the tightest markets in Canada at the beginning of the year, but a surge in new listings and slowing sales activity put them among the most balanced of major resale housing markets in May." It's a different market than it was a few months ago, agrees Gord Archibald, the executive officer of the Association of Regina Realtors. "We've actually seen a flattening out of the market for the last couple of months compared to what we saw in the beginning of '07," Archibald said. "There's been quite an influx of new supply come on the market so it's caused less of a frenzy from what we had seen, and it's providing more time for buyers to make their buying decision." Buyers in Regina are now rarely bidding up above the asking price, Archibald said. Even if the overall number of sales is down, it isn't necessarily bad news for sellers, he said. "The average price is holding, so we're not seeing a retraction as far as property values are concerned," he said. The trend is similar to what's happening in Saskatoon, he said. The rebalancing of the market is expected to continue for the next few months, Archibald said. Consumer HeadlinesJazz Air eliminating 270 jobs, cutting serviceRegional carrier Jazz Air LP, based in Halifax, said Thursday it is cutting 270 jobs and trimming its capacity by five per cent in the wake of cutbacks announced last month by Air Canada. Illegal lobster processing charges laidThe owner of the Howard's Cove fish plant in western P.E.I. has been charged with illegally processing lobster.Wine compound may reduce effects of aging: new researchA compound in red wine may slow some of the ravages of aging, reducing bone loss, the formation of cataracts and balance problems, and improving liver and muscle function, new research suggests. YouTube ordered to hand over user detailsA U.S. federal judge has ordered Google Inc. to hand over the records of every video users have watched on its video-sharing site YouTube to media giant Viacom, records that include users' names and IP addresses.Force payment up front, say gas retailersWith incidents of gasoline theft increasing, some retailers on P.E.I. are calling for legislation to force consumers to pay for fuel before they start pumping. Consumer Life FeaturesCRUDE AWAKENINGSPricey oilFrom bloomers to bagels, the trickle down costENERGYGasolinePeculiar pump price protestsTECHNOLOGYDesign softwareThe building blocks of LegoBLOGFood BytesHunting for the perfect fruitBLOGComm-OdditiesLife fetches $384,000 on eBayPeople who read this also read …
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