One of the hallmarks of the province’s residential real estate market these days is the spread between home prices in the two major cities. The latest report has the benchmark price – a measure developed by realtors to assess property values – is roughly $100,000 higher in Saskatoon than in Regina.
The quick thought in explaining that variation is that Saskatoon is bigger with a more vibrant market place. Perhaps that is a factor but so is civic government.
With demand for housing at record highs, new builds play a big role in setting market prices. And, by extension, so do municipal governments as they are responsible for development fees or development levies that get passed along to home buyers by builders.
The report released late last year on those rates suggest they are the bigger factor. Saskatoon’s development levies sat at just under $116,000 for a construction in a new subdivision. Regina’s was only $35,000 or one-third of Saskatoon which has one of the highest municipal development levies outside Ontario. Even Vancouver which is notorious for housing costs is lower than Saskatoon at $110,000.
