After two years of elevated sales, the supply of available homes in Prince Albert is on the way down in 2023. (File photo/paNOW Staff)

By Rob Mahon

Fewer PA Homes

Available homes, listings declining in Prince Albert

Feb 8, 2023 | 12:00 PM

A shortage of available homes is gripping most of Saskatchewan in the early stages of 2023, and while Prince Albert may not have taken it on the chin the way some other cities have, we haven’t been immune to it either, with dramatically fewer homes available than past years.

“We’re down in Prince Albert about 36 per cent when compared to long-term trends,” Cole Zawislak, director of public affairs for the Saskatchewan Realtors Association, said. “That said, it is a better situation than in certain areas across the province. We have almost nine months of supply in Prince Albert. We’re seeing anywhere from three to five in some regions.”

Being in a better position than other cities might not offer much comfort to a prospective homebuyer, but it does at least show that concerns in Prince Albert are echoed elsewhere. Some of these come from factors well beyond the borders of the province, including interest rates (though Zawislak said it will take a while before the full impact of their rise is felt).

“We’re seeing higher lending rates starting to have an impact,” Zawislak said. “That may be influencing some folks deciding not to list their home and look for something else. Not only is inventory down across the province, but we’re also seeing a decrease in new listings.”

New listings, according to Zawislak, are down about 33 per cent in Prince Albert, though part of that owes to the uptick in sales and activity in 2021 and 2022 with this return to average.

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“We are a very resilient market here in Saskatchewan, and the same goes for Prince Albert,” Zawislak said. “We didn’t see those high price fluctuations even when sales were going crazy across the country, and I don’t think we’ll see those fluctuations on the way down.”

A shortage of homes in the $200,000 to $400,000 range, which has been a concern elsewhere, isn’t as much of an issue in Prince Albert according to Zawislak. Sales are down relative to the last two years, however, and now people looking into homes are looking for something different.

“We’re starting to see demand for apartment style condominiums rising in certain markets,” Zawislak said. “That’s also likely to do with the supply challenge. Some folks, with interest rate hikes, are potentially having to assess what they can afford.”

For Zawislak, the path forward now runs through multiple levels of government. From basement suites to laneway suites, he wants governments to make it easier for homeowners to become providers of housing themselves.

“We’re at a point where we can no longer afford to say no to housing,” he said.

Zawislak added a population growth over the last couple of years is good news for the province but needs to be met with an equal growth in housing.

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Rob.Mahon@pattisonmedia.com