Summer is almost officially here, and the weather is getting hotter in Saskatoon! Can we expect the summer real estate market to stay hot as well?

Our Summer 2021 Real Estate Market Preview is here! We are going to review the stats from the past month, and share our predictions for the summer season, and what you need to know if you plan to buy or sell.

Let’s take a look at the stats from May 2021...

Home sales are very strong

In May, there were 576 home sales which represents an increase in sales of +77% compared to May 2020 where we only saw 326 sales.

This is the third month in a row where sales have been over 500 homes - there were 570 sales in March, 550 in April and now 576 in May. This is an unusually high volume of consistent sales. The big question is, will this be able to continue?

If we try to determine the possible underlying cause for these consistently strong sales volumes, we could use the theory that COVID-19 has left many people with more disposable income right now...

Has the idea of buying an investment property ever crossed your mind?

Maybe you’d like a place to rent out and have someone else pay some or all of your mortgage while you build equity in a tangible real estate asset, or perhaps as a home for your child to live in.

Whatever your reason, investing in an additional property (or multiple properties) can be a good way to accomplish those goals, but there are also some key considerations before you dive in.

Aside from the potential challenge of finding a good tenant, there are some financing hurdles that you should be aware of.

Mortgage Rules for Investment Properties

While there are many Canadian lenders that will finance rental properties, the Department of Finance tightened mortgage lending criteria as part of its rule changes introduced in 2016.

That included eliminating mortgage default insurance, for certain mortgage types, including those for investment properties with less than 5 units.

As a result, you need at least 20% down to...