1 in 5 Saskatchewan residents struggling to keep up with mortgage payments: Expert
Current homeowners in the province have been struggling to keep up with mortgage payments as interest rates rise, according to a mortgage expert.
“The Equifax numbers nationally were around 11 per cent. More people right now are struggling with payments. Anecdotally, the amount of people that I'm dealing with right now, it sits at around one in every five people are trying to figure out how do they make payments for next month,” The Mortgage Group’s Conrad Neufeld told CTV News.
Housing sales in Saskatoon have dropped nearly 20 per cent and inventory levels have fallen below a 10-year average, according to the Saskatchewan Realtors Association.
It’s something that is causing trouble for home buyers and sellers alike, Neufeld said.
“Homebuyers, especially locally, are kind of in a bit of a bind in the sense that we're dealing with extraordinarily low inventory. So I have a ton of home buyers right now actively looking for a home but cannot for the life of them find one,” Neufeld said.
“Even sellers that are reaching out to us or potentially looking to refinance I'm like, ‘Why don't you just sell?’ and they'd say, ‘Well, where would we go?’ Right? Because getting inventory or finding houses is very difficult right now.”
He said most fixed-rate mortgages for new buyers were at 5.25 per cent while those looking to secure a variable mortgage can expect 6.50 per cent.
“If you're looking for longer terms, like five years, you're looking at somewhere under five per cent for high ratio mortgages.”
Those considering refinancing will likely face a higher rate, Neufeld said.
“As long as you're keeping the original mortgage amount, then you'll qualify for those as well. If you're looking to refinance, which means changing the existing terms either stretching out the amortization to make the payments more affordable or to change the dollar amount to add in money to compensate for things like lines of credit due to loans fees as that might be getting out of hand, then you're going to see a larger rate somewhere in the five and a half percent range.”
While the benchmark price increased to $372,400 in February, which is about three per cent higher than last year, Neufeld said those looking to buy should continue to hope for better days soon.
“There is some reason to believe that more inventory will hit the market sometime in spring and summer,” he said.
“It never hurts to start looking now and at least start benchmarking what you can afford compared to what's out there now, so that in the future when potentially another deal comes out or another house goes out on the market you have something to compare that to so you're like, ‘Oh, I know,’ you recognize what a good deal is. If you start looking now at least you're prepared.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories

Two Canadian citizens confirmed dead in Antigua: Global Affairs
Global Affairs Canada has confirmed the death of two Canadian citizens in Antigua.
Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante collapses during press conference
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante is 'doing well' but will reduce the pace of her activities over the next few days after collapsing during a press conference at City Hall on Tuesday morning.
opinion Tom Mulcair: Poilievre keeps scoring into the Liberals' empty net
In his column for CTVNews.ca, former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says Pierre Poilievre's new 'Housing Hell' video dealt a 'devastating' blow to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his Liberals, whose cupboard seems empty of big ideas.
Here is Canada's unseasonably mild December forecast
December is predicted to be unseasonably mild across Canada, thanks to a "moderate-to-strong" El Nino and human-caused warming. Warming and precipitation trends will be stronger in some parts of the country than others, and severe weather is still possible, meteorologists say.
Israel moves into Gaza's second-largest city and intensifies strikes in bloody new phase of the war
Israel said Tuesday that its troops had entered Gaza's second-largest city as intensified bombardment sent streams of ambulances and cars racing to hospitals with wounded and dead Palestinians, including children, in a bloody new phase of the war.
Financial intel agency hands down $7.4M penalty to Royal Bank of Canada
Canada's financial intelligence agency has levied a $7.4-million penalty against the Royal Bank of Canada for non-compliance with anti-money laundering and terrorist financing measures.
2 patients die in ER waiting room of hospital on Montreal's South Shore
An investigation is underway after two people died while waiting in the emergency room at Anna-Laberge Hospital.
U.S. made offer to bring home jailed Americans Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich. Russia rejected it
The Biden administration has made a new and significant offer aimed at securing the release of American detainees Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich, but Russia has rejected the offer, the State Department said Tuesday.
'Significant increase' in sexual misconduct in the Canadian Armed Forces, Statistics Canada reports
Statistics Canada is reporting a 'significant increase' in rates of sexual misconduct in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) last year. The report also states instances of sexual assault were more prevalent among women.