By Tyler Marr

Battlefords home sales declined in 2018

Jan 7, 2019 | 4:00 PM

Home sales in the region slid 12 per cent in 2018, down to just 354 from 402, according to the latest numbers from the Saskatoon Region Association of Realtors (SRAR).

Within North Battleford and Battleford, there were just 166 sales last year, a 22 per cent drop year-over-year. The number of homes sales have declined every year since 2014 when 304 homes were sold within both communities.

The month of December was especially slow, with just five transactions compared to 15 in December 2017 and nine in 2016.

The number of homes for sale in the Battlefords at the end of December was 135, 45 per cent higher than the end of 2017 but equal to December 2016. 

The average number of days a home was the on market in 2018 was 74, compared to the five-year average of 66.

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The total value of homes sold in the Battlefords and surrounding area in 2018 was just over $77 million, down 16 per cent. In 2017, this totalled closer to $92 million and $100 million in 2016. Within the boundaries of both communities, the average sale price for a home was $232,474, a two per cent uptick from last year. Across the region, the average home was selling for one per cent than in 2017 at $206,522.

Although the average price is commonly referenced as a barometer for the market, it can be easily skewed from one period to the next, depending on which price ranges had the most sales that period, the report on home sales from SRAR read.

At years end, there were 459 new listings on MLS within both communities, a two per cent decrease from 2017. Regionally, there were 1,214 homes on the market, down four per cent year-over-year.

“When comparing the number of active listings to the number of sales,” the report read, “it would have taken over twelve months to completely liquidate the active inventory of homes.”

Homes that moved in 2018 sold for over 94 per cent of the asking price, which is consistent with prior years.

tyler.marr@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @JournoMarr