Continuing to defy earlier predictions of a weak housing market due to COVID, the Saskatchewan real estate market remains strong and has outperformed last year’s market. Across the province, sales were up over 54% from last November (and up 22.7% year-to-date), going from 697 to 1,077, new listings were down just over 4% (and down 14.6% year-to-date), going from 1,499 to 1,437) and the median sale price was up close to 1% (and essentially unchanged year-to-date), going from $265,000 to $267,574. Inventories were also down in 18 of the 19 markets that the SRA tracks.

Increased restrictions in place due to the rise in COVID cases throughout the province hasn’t deterred people from buying and selling real estate. “Even before the new restrictions were in place, we had our members suspend open houses again and required them to wear masks with clients” said SRA CEO Jason Yochim, “to help make sure that people stayed safe while buying and selling homes.” And these safety precautions have helped to instill confidence in the market, making it easier for people to be in the market.

Median sales prices were up in 11 of the 19 markets that the SRA tracks (with Melfort and Weyburn seeing the strongest declines while Swift Current and the Yorkton Region saw the greatest increases), while the number of sales were up in 18 of 19 markets.

The strong real estate recovery seen after the province went into lockdown from March to May has continued to carry over into November. “Although November and December are generally much slower compared with the summer months, over 50% more sales than last November is simply amazing,” said Yochim. As the year draws to a close and inventory levels continue to be at low throughout much of the province, the steps that the SRA has taken to ensure the safety of the real estate market, combined with continued pent-up demand, could help to make this one of the best years for real estate in a long time.

Samantha Krahn
Director of External & Government Relations
Saskatchewan Realtors Association