SASKATCHEWAN REAL ESTATE SETS MARCH SALES RECORD; SRA EXPANDS MLS® HPI TO 15 CITIES ACROSS PROVINCE 

The Saskatchewan real estate market is steadily building on the momentum from January and continues to outperform the market from last March. Across the province, there were 1,719 homes sold (up over 85% from last March and up 71.9% year-to-date, going from 2,208 to 3,795), new listings were up over 41% (and up 13.9% year-to-date, going from 1,936 to 2,205,) and the MLS® Home Price Index composite was up close to 9% (up 7.3% year-to-date, going from $255,800 to $278,400). Inventories were also down in 23 of the 24 markets that the SRA tracks.

“We’ve never seen a March like this before” said Chris Gbekorbu, Economic Analyst. “In fact, we typically don’t see this level of sales until at least May, and until June of last year, we hadn’t seen this level of sales since May of 2014.”

Strong demand combined with a shrinking number of homes for sale has helped place upward pressure on prices in most markets. The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) composite was up in 13 of the 15 markets where these data are available (with Estevan and Weyburn declining while Meadow Lake and North Battleford saw the greatest increases), while the number of sales were up in 22 of 24 markets.

“Although we continue to see supply shrink as inventory levels keep falling, the increase in new listings across most markets is very promising,” said Gbekorbu. With supply shrinking and demand continuing to outpace supply, new listings are important to keep the market growing. And as new listings kept falling in January and February, there was the potential for new listings to dry up and further reduce the supply of homes for sale.

According to Gbekorbu, however, “people are still listing homes on the market and they still want to buy—sometimes leading to homes being sold within days of being listed.” As a result, the market remains strong and isn’t showing any signs of slowing down yet.

The increased market activity has also allowed the SRA to partner with the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) to expand its coverage of the MLS® HPI tool to 15 markets across the province. The MLS® HPI gives a better indicator of price trends than average or median prices and gives REALTORS® an extra tool to help them develop more accurate pricing information for clients.

Saskatoon and Region (including Martensville, Warman, and Humboldt)

Sales were up 108.8% in Saskatoon (going from 273 to 570), up 113.3% in Martensville (going from 15 to 32), and up 115.4% in Warman (going from 13 to 28). In Humboldt, sales were up 240.0% (going from 5 to 17), while in the larger region, sales were up 102.1% (going from 380 to 768). Sales in Saskatoon were 72.9% above the 5-year average (and 66.4% above the 10-year average), 102.5% above the 5-year average (and 82.9% above the 10-year average) in Martensville, and 35.9% above the 5-year average (and 15.7% above the 10-year average) in Warman. In Humboldt, sales were 107.3% above the 5-year average (and 136.1% above the 10-year average), while in the larger region, sales were 70.7% above the 5-year average (and 65.2% above the 10-year average). Year-to-Date (YTD) sales in Saskatoon rose 66.2% over last year (increasing from 722 to 1,200), rose 47.4% in Martensville (increasing from 38 to 56), and rose 91.7% in Warman (increasing from 36 to 69). Year-to-Date (YTD) sales in Humboldt rose 130.8% over last year (increasing from 13 to 30), while YTD sales in the larger region rose 66.1% (going from 984 to 1,634).

Sales volume was up 118.0% in the Saskatoon, going from $94.7M to $206.5M in 2021 (82.4% above the 5-year average, and 76.7% above the 10-year average). In Martensville, sales volume was up 113.1%, going from $4.8M to $10.2M (103.9% above the 5-year average, and 80.6% above the 10-year average) and in Warman, sales volume was up 122.3%, going from $5.1M to $11.4M (46.9% above the 5-year average, and 27.3% above the 10-year average). Sales volume was up 307.0% in Humboldt, going from $1.1M to $4.3M (118.4% above the 5-year average, and 150.0% above the 10-year average), while in the region, sales volume was up 114.4%, going from $124.9M to $267.8M (80.3% above the 5-year average, and 75.4% above the 10-year average). YTD sales volume in Saskatoon was $427.8M (an increase of 78.4% from last year), $18.5M in Martensville (an increase of 54.3% from last year), and $27.1M in Warman (an increase of 105.2% from last year). YTD sales volume in Humboldt was $7.3M (an increase of 180.9% from last year), while in the region, YTD sales volume was $556.9M (an increase of 80.5% from last year).

In Saskatoon, the number of new listings in March 2021 rose 53.8%, going from 602 to 926 (23.3% above the 5-year average and 24.0% above the 10-year average). The number of new listings rose 94.1% in Martensville, going from 17 to 33 (1.8% below the 5-year average and 12.2% below the 10-year average) and rose 37.1% in Warman, going from 35 to 48 (5.7% above the 5-year average and 10.4% below the 10-year average). In Humboldt, the number of new listings rose 73.3%, going from 15 to 26 (26.2% above the 5-year average and 33.3% above the 10-year average) , while in the region, new listings rose 47.1%, going from 855 last year to 1,258 this year (16.7% above the 5-year average and 16.3% above the 10-year average). YTD new listings in Saskatoon rose 23.4% (going from 547 to 675), rose 6.3% in Martensville (going from 26 to 28), and rose 4.7% in Warman (going from 36 to 37). In Humboldt, YTD new listings rose 31.6% (going from 13 to 17), while in the larger region, the number of new listings to date rose 17.5%, going from 784 to 921. Active listings fell 12.0% in Saskatoon (down from 1,454 to 1,279), fell 34.1% in Martensville (down from 85 to 56), fell 41.7% in Warman (down from 120 to 70), fell 8.8% in Humboldt (down from 91 to 83), and fell 21.2% in the region (down from 2,715 to 2,140).

Inventory in Saskatoon stood at 2.2 months (which is 57.9% below the level last year and 53.5% below the 5-year average), while the sales to listing ratio was 61.6%, suggesting that market conditions favour sellers. Inventory in Martensville stood at 1.8 months (which is 69.1% below the level last year and 71.0% below the 5-year average), while the sales to listing ratio was 97.0%, suggesting that market conditions favour sellers. Inventory in Warman stood at 2.5 months (which is 72.9% below the level last year and 55.3% below the 5-year average), while the sales to listing ratio was 58.3%, suggesting balanced market conditions. Inventory in Humboldt stood at 4.9 months (which is 73.2% below the level last year and 58.6% below the 5-year average), while the sales to listing ratio was 65.4%, suggesting that market conditions favour sellers. Inventory in the larger region stood at 2.8 months (which is 61.0% below the level last year and 55.2% below the 5-year average), while the sales to listing ratio was 61.0%, suggesting that market conditions favour sellers.

Homes in Saskatoon stayed on the market an average of 36 days in March, down 34.5% from 55 days last year (but below the 5-year average of 52 days and below the 10-year average of 47 days). Homes in Martensville stayed on the market an average of 40 days, down 39.4% from 66 days last year (but below the 5-year average of 57 days and below the 10-year average of 53 days) while homes in Warman stayed on the market an average of 60 days, up 200.0% from 20 days last year (and above the 5-year average of 52 days and above the 10-year average of 53 days). Humboldt saw Homes stay on the market an average of 107 days, down 51.8% from 222 days last year (but below the 5-year average of 145 days and below the 10-year average of 110 days), and homes in the region were on the market an average of 47 days, also down from an average of 66 days last year (and 24.4% below the 5-year average).

The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI)—a more accurate measure of house price trends—varied across different centres in the region. Saskatoon saw the price of the benchmark composite home rise 8.2% year-over-year, going from $290,500 to $314,300. The price of the benchmark composite home in Martensville rose 15.1% (going from $353,800 to $407,100) and also rose by 15.0% in Warman (going from $359,700 to $413,500). The price of the benchmark composite home in Humboldt rose 8.5% (going from $177,800 in 2020 to $192,900 this year).