Paul Martin commentary
Just when it seems Saskatchewan’s housing market cannot get any tighter – it does.
The provincial realtors’ association tracking of residential buying and selling in May is a tale of too little inventory being chased by too many buyers. It is driving up prices across the province with some communities seeing double-digit increases as bidders push offers into record territory.
Saskatoon’s new benchmark price, for example, is north of $440,000 while Regina’s is above $350,000. Provincially, the benchmark now sits at $380,000.
According to this latest report, the number of units on the market remains stuck well below long-term average levels. Although they improved slightly in May, they are still roughly 50-percent below historical figures.
Nearly 1,600 homes changed hands last month – 10-percent ahead of last year – but with only 2,600 additional units being put up for sale, at this pace all the inventory would be exhausted in just a couple months.
Further, roughly a thousand of the listings – which equates to one-quarter of the total inventory including carryover from the previous month – were already conditionally sold.
