2021 started off with a very busy real estate market in Saskatoon. We want to share why we think this means it's the perfect time to sell your home in Saskatoon, and what you need to know about the real estate market right now as a buyer.

Sales volumes and average sales prices have steadily increased and home inventories have continued to stay low in Saskatoon. Let’s take a look at the stats.

In April, there were 550 home sales which represents a staggering increase in sales of +159% compared to April 2020 where we only saw 213 sales. But keep in mind that this number is highly exaggerated as our real estate market was heavily impacted by the start of the COVID-19 pandemic last April and this skews the numbers dramatically. To get a more accurate sense of how the market is doing, we should compare the home sales from April 2021 to home sales from April 2019, where we saw 380 sales, which is an increase of +45.5% compared to 2021. This is still a significant increase and demonstrates...

IMPENDING MORTGAGE RULE CHANGES

OSFI (Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions) has propose a change to the uninsured stress test rate. OSFI regulates and supervises more than 400 federally regulated financial institutions (80% of all mortgage lenders). They do not watch over provincial credit unions and private lenders. OSFI reports to parliament through the Minister of Finance and regulates the conventional space.

Proposed change - Effective June 1st the qualifying rate for conventional (uninsured) mortgages will be based on a stress test of 5.25%

Note that Department of Finance regulates insured mortgages who currently have a stress test rate of 4.79%

Timeline - On May 7th the public was invited to provide feedback to the change. By May 24th the feedback will be taken into consideration and the final amendments will be made. As of June 1st the changes will take effect.

What does this mean to clients?

• If you have a signed accepted offer dated prior to June 1, 2021,...

Spring has finally sprung, and we’ve come to the end of the first quarter of 2021. This year has already proven to be an extremely busy one in the Saskatoon Real Estate Market.

We are commonly asked the same question by many of our clients:

“We’re ready to start looking to buy a new home...what are the next steps we should take?”

So we thought we would take some time to go over the initial steps you need to take in the house hunting process. But first, let's quickly go over the stats that were just released from March. One thing to keep in mind when looking at these stats, is that in March of last year we experienced the beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Saskatoon Market Statistics - March 2021

Last month, there were 570 sales, which is +297 more sales compared to March of 2020.

There were +926 new listings posted to the MLS in March, which is up +53.8% for the month compared to 324 new listings in March of 2020.

There were 1278 active listings in Saskatoon as of...

For the past year, soaring home prices and a desire for more space have sent homebuyers flocking beyond the suburbs and into beautiful cottage country.

It’s a trend that is playing out right across the county, and one that’s expected to continue throughout 2021. High demand is expected to push average recreational property prices higher by 15% to $502,730, according to an updated forecast from Royal LePage.

Recreational properties in Ontario and Atlantic Canada are expected to see average prices rise 17%, while Quebec and B.C. should see prices increase by 15% and 13%, respectively. That would be on top of the 16% national price gain seen for this segment between 2019 and 2020.

“From coast to coast, the line between primary residence and recreational property is blurring,” Phil Soper, president and CEO of Royal LePage said in a release. “The trend began last summer when the option of travelling abroad was taken away, and continued to gain popularity as it became...