Population growth, strong economy lead to strong home sales in Sask.

The CEO of the Saskatchewan Realtors Association says housing sales in Saskatchewan in 2023 were strong.

“We’ve had six consecutive months of above-average sales,” Chris Guérette told The Evan Bray Show on Wednesday.

Guérette suggested the biggest reasons for the growth were a thriving economy and population growth.

“We know that in 2023 we’ve had record numbers in this province,” she said. “People need to live somewhere. Whether it’s home ownership or apartment, any movement in that housing continuum means we’re going to see some activity in sales.”

Guérette noted the success Saskatchewan realtors are seeing right now isn’t being experienced by realtors across Canada.

“We’re the most affordable province in the country right now,” she said. “Something we have to watch for (is) I just recently saw stats for home ownership, and home ownership rates across the country have dropped significantly. (It has dropped)  five points over the last 10 years in the age category (where) you want to see an increase, which is the 25- to 45-year-old.”

When it comes to what people are buying, Guérette suggested that right now, the association is seeing more multi-unit homes being built than single-built homes.

“I can tell you from the permits — and this is not unique to Saskatchewan — in the last decade, the average of permits being pulled for multi-units is now always higher most of the time than the average of single-family homes being built,” she said.

“That kind of tells you a story on how municipalities are being built. We’re seeing builders build towards purpose-built rentals.”

While inventory is OK right now, data Guérette has seen suggests the housing market could look like it was back almost 20 years ago if demand exceeds the supply.

“For those of us in 2006, 2007, 2008, we probably still remember when inventory was so low that you had to move so quickly to purchase a home that you couldn’t take a look at it. It was a very uncomfortable market for everybody,” she said.

“When we took a look at our numbers in 2023 at the end of the summer, the statistics were very similar to 2007 and that is very concerning. As soon as you have that pressure, that’s when you’ll have those prices shoot and the erosion of those affordability of housing prices.”

Looking forward, Guérette thinks home buyers’ habits have changed given how people have adjusted their lifestyles over the last three years.

“The pandemic shed a brand new light on homes,” she said. “We now work there – home is really your safety net. When people are looking to buy, that perspective has completely changed.”

She added there’s concern for interest rates over the next couple of years.

“In Canada, there’s only been 300,000 households impacted in the last couple of years with interest rates. We still have a very large wave coming down in the next two years,” she said. “We still have a lot of individuals who can get hit if they renew their mortgage in the next 18 to 24 months.”