Sales continue to cool in Saskatoon housing market

Housing sales have declined nearly 11 per cent year-to-date but levels remain high overall for Saskatoon.

However, sales are still 20 per cent higher than normal, the Saskatchewan Realtors Association (SRA) said. That’s largely because of the record high levels of housing sales in the market.

There has also been a drop in new houses on the market, an SRA media release said.

The shortage of inventory in Saskatoon makes it a tight market for home buyers. SRA said the market hasn’t been like this since 2009.

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Higher lending rates and the low level of inventory are the major challenges for those wanting to buy a home in Saskatoon, according to SRA.

“As expected, gains in lending rates are having some cooling impacts on the housing market causing consumers to seek out more affordable options,” CEO of SRA Chris Guérette said.

“The challenge will be product availability in the lower price ranges of the market. Supply levels are improving compared to earlier in the year, however, the year-over-year decline in inventory has been driven by homes priced below $400,000.”

According to numbers from the SRA, there have been more than 3,000 sales in the city so far this year.