Joel DyckReal Broker SK Ltd.
Saskatoon · From the topic map

Why do Saskatoon homes need different valuation approaches?

Because the housing stock is not one thing. A 1912 character home in Nutana, a 1970s bungalow in College Park, a new two storey in Willowgrove and an apartment condominium downtown are four different products with four different buyer pools. The Saskatchewan REALTORS Association benchmark of $444,700 averages across all of them and describes none of them precisely.

Older neighbourhoods are valued on the land, the lot width and the honesty of past renovation work, because the structures have all been altered over a century of ownership. Two houses on the same block can be far apart depending on whether the wiring was updated, whether the foundation has moved, and whether a basement suite is on record with the City of Saskatoon.

Newer suburban areas are the opposite problem. The homes are similar enough that comparables are easy to find, so value turns on smaller differences: lot orientation, whether the basement was developed after possession, the garage, and the finishing level chosen from the builder. A property still inside its Saskatchewan New Home Warranty coverage period carries an advantage a comparable ten year old house does not.

Condominiums are valued on the corporation as much as the unit, which means the reserve fund study, the fee and the bylaws. Acreages outside the city are valued on outbuildings, water and septic. One method applied to all four produces four wrong numbers, which is why Joel Dyck's hand-reviewed valuation starts from what the property actually is.

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