Paul Martin Commentary
It seems to be getting harder and harder to buy a house in the province. That’s because so many people are inclined to keep their home rather than sell it.
The latest figures from the provincial Realtors Association show the imbalance between supply and demand is not improving very much.
The volume of transactions in February was 16-percent lower than a year ago and a bit lower than the 10-year average. The organization points to supply as an issue. New listings were seven-percent lower than a year ago but more than 30-percent under the 10-year average.
The only exception was the Moose Jaw-Swift Current corridor where sales numbers went up. In the other five economic regions, they were down.
As a result, prices were rising. And they’re going up in every major community in the province, some as much as 13-percent which was noted in Estevan. Melville followed closely at 11-percent, Humboldt at 10-percent and Moose Jaw at 9-percent.
The provincial benchmark rose almost $5,000 to just under $364,000. The benchmark in Regina is $336,000 and Saskatoon is $421,000.
