Supply issues continue to affect Saskatchewan’s housing market | The Canadian News

Supply challenges continue to have an effect on Saskatchewan’s housing market.

New listings have remained well below the traditional levels seen in January. At the end of the sale, only 748 units were sold in the month, showing a steady decline since last year’s boom.

The Saskatchewan Realtors Association (SRA) says it is continuing to try to understand what factors are influencing the supply of housing in Saskatchewan. SRA says it’s everything from labor and supply shortages to land costs, lending rate hikes, the pandemic and remote employment, coupled with increased immigration and economic growth. All of this contributes to gaps in the housing market, raising concerns about declining inventory issues.

“We are still very happy in Saskatchewan,” said Chris Guerette, CEO of SRA. “We mostly have a healthy housing continuum and there are choices in it, but were very worried about the next few months next year in terms of how it will shake out.”

Guerette warns price increases could continue as the year progresses.

For the city of Regina, sales declined in January over the strong levels recorded last year, but remained above the 10-year average. The SRA reports that new listings may have declined slightly over last year’s levels, but with 316 new listings for the month, sales to new listing ratio decreased to 53 percent, slightly lower than the 57 percent recorded last year.

For the city of Saskatoon, January’s sales declined above last year’s levels, but with 230 sales for the month, activity remained in line with long-term trends. The SRA stated that inventory levels remained exceptionally low for January with 881 units, which is more than 30 percent below long-term averages and the lowest January levels since 2010.

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