This is a familiar refrain but there simply aren’t enough houses to go around.
The latest to add its voice to this chorus is the Saskatchewan Realtors Association. In assessing the market in its monthly report for July, it noted that inventory remains tight – more than 10 per cent behind last year’s level and 30 per cent lower than the 10-year average.
This provides buyers with fewer options and discourages potential buyers looking to move up the real estate ladder from listing their own properties as higher interest rates are making it harder to qualify for higher valued homes in pricier neighborhoods.
It is pushing prices upward. Four communities set record benchmarks. This is the mechanism realtors use to evaluate properties across markets rather than an average home price, which varies dramatically between places such as Toronto and Saskatchewan.
Record high benchmark prices were established in Saskatoon, Prince Albert, Meadow Lake and Yorkton last month, according to the Saskatchewan Realtors Association report. Estevan was the only community to see the benchmark decline. Provincially, the benchmark was $331,000 – up $4,000 from just two months earlier.
