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With Canada’s central bank holding its key interest rate steady at 2.25 per cent, the Saskatchewan Realtors Association says mortgage holders won’t face any immediate payment shocks.
However, Tyler Hudy, the association’s vice president of public affairs and communications, said issues within Saskatchewan’s housing market still persist.
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“We’re kind of going back to this thing that we’ve seen over the last 40 months, which is that housing supply is at an all-time low across the province. We have one of the strongest housing markets in the nation, and it is very contradictory to what’s happening in larger markets like Vancouver and Toronto,” Hudy told 980 CJME.
“Although the key interest rate is being held, there is still a structural housing supply issue, which means that without the increased supply, there’s still price pressures in our markets that are going to impact buyers and sellers.”
Hudy said the all-time low housing supply stemmed from a record number of sales.
“We are seeing houses being snatched up quickly, fast and hard. In some areas across the province, we’re seeing instances of the offers coming in above the listing price of homes. It’s a very competitive market out there, both for sellers and buyers,” Hudy explained.
“With things like the key interest rate decreasing three or four times over the last year, that just means more opportunity for people to enter the market, which just tightens up that supply and makes things more difficult when we’re in the position that we are in in Saskatchewan.”
Hudy said fixing the issue will likely require help from the federal, provincial and municipal governments.
At a municipal level, Hudy said cities issuing permits faster would aid in the construction of homes, and he praised the efforts he’s seen in both Regina and Saskatoon, commending Regina in particular for posting permits on a more frequent basis.
On the provincial side, Hudy said the Government of Saskatchewan needs to provide funding to make homes across the housing continuum attractive. He pointed to the secondary suite program and the PST exemption on new homes as measures that will help address the supply issue.
Federally, Hudy said the Government of Canada has to make investments in infrastructure to allow for more homes to be built.
Hudy said Ottawa’s Build Canada Homes initiative does good work in creating affordable housing, but noted that Saskatchewan also needs more in terms of “middle-class” homes, as that is the area where the association is seeing the most pressure.
