Homes Are Moving

If you were to use the local residential real estate market as a barometer, you’d never know there was a pandemic going on.

After a slow down when the pandemic arrived, buying and selling of homes has not only returned to its usual level, it is ahead of last year. Sales in every major city tracked by the Saskatchewan Association of Realtors saw increased volume in July. And this was building on already positive numbers in June.

The number of sales rose by as little as 11-percent in Estevan to as high as 80-percent in Swift Current. Saskatoon posted a 40-percent improvement, Regina was up more than 50-ercent, Moose Jaw had gains of roughly 40 points along with Weyburn while increases in North Battleford and Prince Albert were approaching 70-percent.

Lower mortgage rates are no doubt a factor in this but it is likely that lower spending on things like entertainment and travel has prompted people to think about diverting that money into property and, for most of us that means our home…. Or even bidding wars which are once again a reality in our market.