New house listings and sales volumes were up for members of the Weyburn Real Estate Board in the month of July, but unit sales dipped slightly for the month.

The real estate picture for the year-to-date is an improvement over last year, according to figures from the Saskatchewan Real Estate Board, with sales up by 8.6 per cent and sales volumes up by 19.2 per cent over the previous year. Listings for the year so far totalled 186 compared to 172 a year ago, unit sales went from 76 to 81 and sales volumes went up from $4.65 million to $5.54 million this year.

In July, new listings went up to 37 from 27 a year ago, but unit sales slipped from 13 to 11 on the month. Despite this slight decrease, the sales volume was up by 28 per cent over the prior year, reaching $1.06 million from $827,500.

The average price was $96,273, up from the average of $83,854 in 1999, but this rise is due to sales of homes in higher price ranges than last year, said Weyburn board president Marvin Gisi.

"New listings are up from last year for the month, and there are lots of homes available in the $70-90,000 price range, but homes in the $120-140,000 range are going pretty nice right now," he said, adding that prices overall have been remaining stable.

"Anytime the numbers are up, it's a good sign for the local market," said Gisi, noting there are usually many sales in the summer time when people change jobs or locations, as people want to get relocated and settled before school resumes in the fall.