Murray Wood: Who's hot... and who's not
Every Friday, Murray Wood takes a look back at the week's news and decides who's hot... and who's not.
With interest rates rising across Canada, some Saskatoon residents may be looking a little smaller for their next home.
For the second time this year, Canada increased loan interest rates on Wednesday. The base rate now sits at an even one per cent.
Developer Andrew Machnee predicts those looking to buy or rent in Saskatoon will move towards purchasing “tiny” homes, as housing prices become more unaffordable.
“There’s going to be a big movement of people who want to spend their life living, rather than paying down a huge mortgage they can’t afford,” Machnee said.
His company, Machnee Developments Inc., is currently building a 228 square foot house on Avenue F North.
The home will be the city’s first permanent tiny house, despite mobile units already in place in RV parks.
The land is owned by an area church, and will be rented out for $900 per month.
Ron Cooper made sure his name was first on the list of possible renters.
The former heavy-duty mechanic broke his back while on the job, and he’s been looking for a more affordable living option since.
Cooper said he wants to rent the tiny house to reduce his costs, and as a trial to see if he wants to buy one of his own.
“There’s a lot for sale just down the road,” he said. “I could build one of these and it would be just perfect.”
Machnee said there’s opportunity to build more tiny homes in Saskatoon, which could help the city meet it’s infill development goals.
“If the city would allow us, I could build communities where you could get into a house like (the Avenue F home) for under $100,000 including the land,” Machnee said.
He said property allocated for a regular-sized house could be divided multiple ways for more than one tiny home.
