October 2021 - Regina & Region Housing Market Update

According to Chris Guérette - Saskatchewan REALTORS® Association CEO, “One of the single greatest issues the Canadian real estate market faces - including Saskatchewan - is the declining levels of house supply. The seasonally-adjusted number of residential properties, remaining for sale on MLS® System of Canadian real estate boards and associations, is close to falling below the 100,000 mark for the first time on record. Six years ago, that number was a quarter of a million.”

Although Saskatchewan’s new listings and sales numbers have decreased, Saskatchewanians continue to purchase homes, given lending rates are as low as 2.5%. Despite low lending rates, sales in Saskatchewan have pulled back to 1306, which compared to last year, dropped by 4.2% but conversely, have risen 26.4% since the beginning of this sales year. The sales-to-listing ratio rose to 68% and the inventory fell to 6,836 which is 10% lower than last year, and nearly 20% below long-term averages.

With the number of new listings decreasing parallel with sales, the total residential average price has risen to $284,500, which is 5% higher than last year, and almost 8% higher than 2019. Guérette states, “To tackle the supply and affordability issues, all levels of government need to ensure adequate housing opportunities are available for Saskatchewanians across the housing spectrum.”

Regina’s Sales, standing at 326, have decreased by almost 9% compared to last year but have increased by 21.8% since the beginning of the year. October has also been generous with New Listing numbers, as they have increased by 3.1% since last year and 13.6% since the beginning of the year! While our inventory has risen 0.9% to 1,536, the 10-year average shows it decreasing year-to-date by 9.1%.

Prices in Regina have also increased by roughly $22,000 from January 2021 ($233,100) to September 2021 ($254,600) with October’s numbers not yet available. With superb lending rate options, and new listing numbers climbing, the increase in house prices is making the decreased number of sales understandably disappointing.