The Saskatchewan real estate market is steadily building on the momentum from January and continues to outperform the market from last March. Sales numbers and new listings for real estate were both up in Weyburn in March.
Across the province, there were 1,719 homes sold (up over 85 per cent from last March and up 71.9 per cent year-to-date, going from 2,208 to 3,795), new listings were up over 41 per cent (and up 13.9 per cent year-to-date, going from 1,936 to 2,205,) and the MLS® Home Price Index composite was up close to nine per cent (up 7.3 per cent year-to-date, going from $255,800 to $278,400). Inventories were also down in 23 of the 24 markets that the SRA tracks.
“We’ve never seen a March like this before,” said Chris Gbekorbu, Economic Analyst. “In fact, we typically don’t see this level of sales until at least May, and until June of last year, we hadn’t seen this level of sales since May of 2014.”
Strong demand combined with a shrinking number of homes for sale has helped place upward pressure on prices in most markets. The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) composite was up in 13 of the 15 markets where these data are available (with Estevan and Weyburn declining while Meadow Lake and North Battleford saw the greatest increases), while the number of sales were up in 22 of 24 markets.
“Although we continue to see supply shrink as inventory levels keep falling, the increase in new listings across most markets is very promising,” said Gbekorbu. With supply shrinking and demand continuing to outpace supply, new listings are important to keep the market growing. And as new listings kept falling in January and February, there was the potential for new listings to dry up and further reduce the supply of homes for sale.
According to Gbekorbu, however, “people are still listing homes on the market and they still want to buy—sometimes leading to homes being sold within days of being listed.” As a result, the market remains strong and isn’t showing any signs of slowing down yet.
Sales in Weyburn were up (going from 6 to 11), and up 120 per cent in the overall region, going from 30 to 66. Sales were 41 per cent above the five-year average (and 3.5 per cent below the 10-year average) in Weyburn, while in the larger region, sales were 84.4 per cent above the five-year average (and 49.7 per cent above the 10-year average). Year-to-date (YTD) sales rose 45 per cent in Weyburn (going from 20 to 29), and rose 65.9 per cent in the larger region, going from 85 to 141.
Sales volume was up 170.8 per cent in Weyburn, going from $1.1M to $3.0M (48.6 per cent above the five-year average, and 1.8 per cent below the 10-year average). In the region, sales volume was up 177.8 per cent, going from $5M to $13.8M (90.9 per cent above the five-year average, and 35.6 per cent above the 10-year average). YTD sales volume was $7.9M in Weyburn, an increase of 78.8 per cent, and was $29.9M in the larger region (an increase of 99.7 per cent from last year).
The number of new listings in March 2021 rose 45.5 per cent in Weyburn, going from 22 last year to 32 (8.8 per cent above the five-year average and 13.5 per cent above the 10-year average). In the region, new listings rose 46.2 per cent, going from 106 last year to 155 this year (24.8 per cent above the 5-year average and 36.3 per cent above the 10-year average). YTD new listings rose 4.2 per cent in Weyburn, going from 24 to 25, while in the larger region, the number of new listings to date rose 16.8 per cent, going from 95 to 111. Active listings fell 20.6 per cent in Weyburn (down from 165 to 131), and fell 20.8 per cent in the region (down from 773 to 612).
Inventory in Weyburn stood at 11.9 months (which is 56.7 per cent below the level last year and 42 per cent below the five-year average), while the sales to listing ratio was 34.4 per cent, suggesting that market conditions favour buyers. Inventory in the larger region stood at 9.3 months (which is 64 per cent below the level last year and 54.9 per cent below the five-year average), while the sales to listing ratio was 42.6 per cent, suggesting balanced market conditions.
Homes in Weyburn stayed on the market an average of 107 days in March, up 20.2 per cent from 89 days last year (and above the five-year average of 104 days and above the 10-year average of 93 days). Homes in the region stayed on the market for 126 days on average in 2021, also down from an average of 132 days last year (and 3.8 per cent below the five-year average).
The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI)—a more accurate measure of house price trends—varied across different centres in the region. The price of the benchmark composite home in Weyburn fell 0.7 per cent (going from $226,000 to $224,400).
