October Market update

Posted: Wednesday November 18, 2020

The Saskatchewan real estate market continues to be strong and outperform last year’s market. Across the province, sales were up 38.4% from last October (and up 20.4% year-to-date, going from 987 to 1,366), new listings were up 1.0% (but down 6.6% year-to-date), going from 2,002 to 2,023, and the median sale price was up 7.8% (up 3.6% year-to-date), going from $255,000 to $275,000. Inventories were also down in 16 of the 19 markets that the SRA tracks.

Consumer confidence is high in Saskatchewan despite falling economic resilience across the country due to the emergence of a second wave of COVID-19. “The protocols that we put in place back in April to keep REALTORS® and their clients safe,” said SRA CEO Jason Yochim, “has helped ease people’s anxiety when it comes to buying and selling real estate.”

Combined with the government’s early efforts to minimize the spread of COVID and to safely re-open the economy as quickly as possible, the SRA’s actions have been critical in helping keep consumer confidence high. “We saw that COVID didn’t stop people from participating in the real estate market,” said Yochim, “but they also need to feel safe.”

The confidence that people have shown has been great for the Saskatchewan real estate market. Median sales prices were up in 11 of the 19 markets that the SRA tracks (with Prince Albert and Swift Current seeing the largest drops while Estevan and Weyburn saw the greatest gains), while the number of sales were up in 15 of 19 markets (with Weyburn and Melfort seeing the largest drop while Regina and Saskatoon had significant gains). Increases in sales and prices combined with falling inventories suggests that these markets continue to be resilient.

Overall, the real estate market in October continues the trends that we have seen since the provincial economy reopened. Although the market is slowing compared with the performance that we saw over the summer, this October was stronger than it was last year.

Although COVID numbers are beginning to increase across the country and in the province, the SRA continues to work on measures to help minimize the spread of the virus while allowing people to buy and sell real estate safely. With the province mandating masks in public spaces in Prince Albert, Regina, and Saskatoon and capping public gatherings at 10 people, the SRA is going one step further and requiring all of its members across Saskatchewan to wear masks at all times while meeting with clients as of Friday November 6^th.

Regina

Sales in Regina were up 42.6%, going from 204 in October 2019 to 291 in October 2020, and up 41.5% in the overall region, going from 253 to 358. In Regina, sales were 26.6% above the 5-year average (and 19.2% above the 10-year average), while in the larger region, sales were 29.2% above the 5-year average (and 24.1% above the 10-year average). Year-to-Date (YTD) sales in Regina rose 12.2% over last year, increasing from 2,309 to 2,590, while YTD sales in the larger region rose 17.1%, going from 2,751 to 3,221.

Sales volume was up 43.9% in the city, going from $61.3M to $88.2M in 2020 (28.1% above the 5-year average, and 16.8% above the 10-year average). YTD sales volume in the city was $797.2M, an increase of 13.5% from last year. In the region, sales volume was up 19.1%, going from $833.4M to $992.7M (31.7% above the 5-year average and 23.5% above the 10-year average). YTD sales volume increased 19.1% in the region, rising from $833.4M in 2019 to $992.7M in 2020.

In Regina, the number of new listings in October 2020 rose 6.0%, going from 383 to 406 (0.1% above the 5-year average and 1.3% above the 10-year average), while in the region, new listings rose 3.0% from 470 last year to 484 this year (0.9% below the 5-year average and 0.2% below the 10-year average). YTD new listings in the city fell 4.1%, going from 4,630 to 4,441, while in the larger region, the number of new listings to date fell 5.4%, going from 5,892 to 5,571. Active listings fell 20.4% in Regina (down from 1,428 to 1,137) and fell 25.7% in the region (down from 2,036 to 1,512).

Inventory in Regina stood at 3.9 months (which is 44.2% below the level last year and 35.7% below the 5-year average), while the sales to listing ratio was 71.7%, suggesting that market conditions favour sellers. Inventory in the larger region stood at 4.2 months (which is 47.5% below the level last year and 40.5% below the 5-year average), while the sales to listing ratio was 74.0%, suggesting that market conditions favour sellers.

Homes in Regina stayed on the market an average of 55 days in October—down 28.6% from 77 days last year (but below the 5-year average of 60 days and above the 10-year average of 49 days). Homes in the region stayed on the market longer than homes in the city at 62 days on average in 2020, but also down from an average of 77 days last year (and 3.1% below the 5-year average).

Median home prices in Regina went from $282,500 to $285,000 (an increase of 0.9%) and were approximately 0.6% below the 5-year and 2.5% below the 10-year average median price. The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI)—a more accurate measure of house price trends—is essentially flat, with the benchmark single-family home price going from $290,700 to $290,600. Year-to-date, the median home price in Regina was $290,532 which is 0.6% above the $288,865 price from the same time last year. Median home prices in the region went from $280,000 to $290,250 (an increase of 3.7%) and were approximately 2.0% above the 5-year and 0.5% above the 10-year average median price. Year-to-date, the median home price in the region was $289,425 which is 1.0% above the $286,550 price from the same time last year.

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