(File photo/paNOW Staff)

By Alison Sandstrom

COVID effect

Surge in P.A. home sale volumes

Jan 28, 2021 | 6:21 PM

Houses in Prince Albert are changing hands at a rate that hasn’t been seen in three years.

Despite lower activity in April due to COVID-19 restrictions, 2020 sales in the city shot above 2019 levels from May to December, ending the year 32 per cent above 2019, the Saskatchewan Realtors Association reports.

Data provided by The Saskatchewan Realtors Association. (Alison Sandstrom/paNOW Staff)

With three days to go in the month, 38 homes were sold in January this year, up 150 per cent from 13 during the same month in 2020.

Chris Gbekorbu, an economic analyst with the Saskatchewan Realtors Association says the trends in Prince Albert are consistent with what’s being observed across the province.

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A number of Canadians have seen an increase in wealth due to government pandemic support programs, he explained. That, compounded with low interest rates is driving sales, along with a fear of missing out.

“People see that houses are selling rather quickly, they don’t necessarily want to miss out on that and they realize that people are buying kind of a crazy amount right now,” he said. “There might be a bit of fear that if I don’t buy right now, I’m not going to get a good deal.”

Additionally the pandemic has changed what people are looking for in a home, with a number of people seeking a home office space, Gbekorbu explained.

He said the market will likely slow down in the coming months, as the demand for homes pushes up the price. When it does, he anticipates a “gradual softening,” as opposed to any kind of crash, with the total number of sales in 2021 likely to be similar to the total in 2020.

In the meantime, conditions remain favorable for potential buyers.

“Right now is a good time to buy if you can,” he said. “If you definitely do want to up-size, have that home-office kind of thing, now would be the time to try to do it.”

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alison.sandstrom@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @alisandstrom