Houses previously for sale in Prince Albert. (File Photo/paNOW Staff)

By Jaryn Vecchio

Strong Numbers

Communities across Saskatchewan see increase in home sales to start 2024

Feb 7, 2024 | 5:00 PM

Many communities across Saskatchewan are starting 2024 on the right foot when it comes to home sales.

That’s according to the Saskatchewan Realtors Association (SRA) which released its first monthly report of the year earlier this week.

There were 776 sales throughout the province which is a 24 per cent increase from 2023.

Chris Guerette, the CEO of the SRA, said she isn’t surprised as Saskatchewan is the most affordable province in the country to live in.

“I realize that there are many who are struggling, and that comment falls very flat, but we do have a very strong housing continuum,” she said.

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While prices have gone up, compared to other provinces and territories it’s not as dramatic. The average price for the 776 sales was roughly $319,000 which is up only one per cent from 2023.

Central Saskatchewan

Of the seven cities and regions across Central Saskatchewan that the SRA released numbers for, five saw a jump in sales year-over-year.

The two that didn’t, the Town of Battleford and Meadow Lake, had the same amount of sales as the previous year – four and two respectively.

Prince Albert led the way with 23 sales, up nearly 28 per cent; followed by the Jansen Region with 21 sales, a nearly 24 per cent increase; and North Battleford which had 13 sales, a slight increase of eight per cent.

The SRA also had stats for Humboldt and Melfort which saw one more sale in 2024 than in 2023, five and four respectively.

Guerette explained economic development and major projects happening in P.A. and the Jansen Region played a part in their strong numbers.

“People moving to the area, more commercial investment coming in… it really feeds that whole eco-system,” she said.

In fact, the SRA decided to include the Jansen Region in its monthly reports to highlight the growth the area is seeing mainly thanks to the BHP Jansen Potash Mine.

What to Expect Moving Forward

January’s numbers weren’t a one-off as the province has seen strong sales over the past six months as well.

Whether this will continue is still up in the air. Guerette said this is because of inventory levels which are quite low across Saskatchewan.

“It’s important that we have a lot of choices… different price points, different neighbourhoods, different types of housing.”

There are over 4,500 properties on the market, however, this is down nearly 18 per cent from this time in 2023.

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Jaryn.Vecchio@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow