Head of Sask. realtors association calls mortgage fraud case ‘surprising’

The head of the Saskatchewan Realtors Association called fraud charges laid against two now-former realtors in Saskatoon “unfortunate” and “surprising.”

Chris Guerette, CEO of the association, said she’s only been learning the same limited information as the public from police about the investigation.

“We don’t even know how such things are possible,” she said on Gormley on Wednesday, calling it a “really unfortunate case.”

The confusion over how eight mortgage applications with false documents were discovered at a financial institution — with police searches eventually turning up more, linked to further banks — comes as a result of knowing the intricacy of real estate transactions.

Guerette said a significant number of people are involved in every transaction, including the bank, realtors, appraisers and lawyers.

“It’s a bit surprising that it did take this long to have such an unacceptable situation brought to light,” she said.

There are two aspects of being a licensed realtor in Saskatchewan, Guerette explained.

First, a person must be licensed to trade in real estate by the Saskatchewan Real Estate Commission. Then, an individual can join a professional organization like the Saskatchewan Realtors Association.

Those steps are common in various professions, Guerette shared, as one body is tasked with protecting the public while the other works to support its professionals.

Saskatchewan’s real estate market

Guerette also gave an update on the current real estate market in the province.

With home sales down in February but sales activity still stronger than the long-term average, Guerette said the market is performing higher than pre-pandemic numbers show. Sales are down presently, though that isn’t uncommon for this time of year according to data, Guerette said.

The dip in sales could also be attributed to the shortage of inventory in Saskatchewan.

Guerette said it’s taking much longer for someone looking to purchase a home to actually find something that suits their needs. However, some buyers who have been sidelined in the past because of high interest rates are slowly coming back.

“We wouldn’t be surprised if over the next few months we also start seeing higher sales,” Guerette predicted.

However, the lack of inventory in the province is another issue — one that’s likely the result of more than one factor.

Guerette said there was higher household formation during the pandemic, meaning more houses were needed despite a population that stayed roughly the same. She said instances of divorce and young people moving out of their parents’ home helped drive that increase in demand.

However, builders aren’t constructing homes at a rate high enough to replenish that inventory because of the demands and risks those businesses are facing.

Compared to three or four years ago, Guerette said labour, supplies and product costs have shot up and become more difficult to obtain. More workers, better access to supplies and support for builders to mitigate risks will be necessary to see more homes built in Saskatchewan, according to Guerette.

Saskatchewan is particularly in need of more affordable housing, Guerette said. She also noted Canada is seeing a “missing middle” — a drop in the ability for people to purchase their picturesque single-family home because of rising costs, and more of a move towards condos, apartments, duplexes and fourplexes to meet their needs instead.

Guerette said larger municipalities are seeing permits decrease for single-family homes while multi-units are going up and has surpassed the average of single-family home permits being pulled.

She said that’s an indication of the problems with affordability that Canadians — and people in Regina and Saskatoon — are experiencing.

“We need to be ready to have a housing continuum that is flexible enough and has choice so if people need to downsize or upsize, they can do that without significant challenges,” Guerette said.