The real estate market continues to soar in the Battlefords and Meadow Lake up more than 100 per cent from last year. (File photo/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Josh Ryan

Hot market

Housing market spike remains in Northwest Saskatchewan

May 7, 2021 | 4:05 PM

Another month, another record in Saskatchewan real estate, particularly in the Battlefords/Meadow Lake region.

The latest report from the Saskatchewan Realtors Association shows the market continuing to build momentum it’s sustained from the past few months, with a 182 per cent increase in homes sold. SRA Analyst Chris Gbekorbu said it’s not really fair to compare this April to last April, where the pandemic halted activities, but it is fair to compare with other years.

“Just like last month, we set another record with 1,865 sales,” he said in the SRA release. “We saw sales hit a high of 1,801 last July as the economy reopened, but before then our record was 1,609 sales in May of 2014.”

North Battleford sales were up 71 per cent, while Meadow Lake saw a 300 per cent spike. Both communities were up compared to the five-year average and saw sales volume rise as well, but Meadow Lake’s numbers were particularly high, with a year-to-date increase of 269 per cent.

Re/Max owner Wally Lorenz said it’s surprising to see this momentum carry on as long as it has, instead of a slight slowdown. While the number of available homes continues to be low, each month has seen an increase in new listings, including a 126 per cent increase in North Battleford and a 250 per cent increase in Meadow Lake.

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“There’s still an appetite for people to do a little buying,” Lorenz said.

Some of the factors that could have influenced the continued boom include interest rates, more flexibility from lenders and some economic activity in rural areas. Lorenz pointed to that latter category for Meadow Lake, along with the effects of the pandemic.

“It’s a combination of things coming together just right,” he said.

North Battleford saw the price of the benchmark single family home rise 23.6 per cent year-over-year, going from $177,300 to $219,100, while the price of the benchmark single family home in Meadow Lake rose 25.9 per cent from $221,100 to $278,400. Lorenz said it’s what he’d expect to see after having had good sales for a while. However, he warned that if increases in sales becomes sharp instead of steady, then that would create market problems.

“As long as it stays on a gradual incline, we’re going to be ok, but if we try too hard to step it up, we’re going to be in trouble,” he said.”

The forecast for the market in the summer remains unknown, but Lorenz said there’s a decent chance of a lull in July if restrictions are lifted in Saskatchewan. This will give people more opportunities for activities they previously couldn’t do and more things to distract from searching for homes.

“We’re going to have less interest and people will need more time to make those deals because people have other interests,” Lorenz said.

And while he isn’t sure about how much of an effect people leaving other provinces will have in the coming months, Lorenz said there’s a possibility that could happen, which would ensure a population growth in smaller communities. He pointed to population changes nearly a decade ago, where people were leaving the coast in British Columbia, moving further and further east.

“I don’t think we’re going to get back to those levels, but I think we’ll start seeing that happen again,” he said. “People just want to find a cheaper way of living, in an environment that’s not so restrictive and confined as what they’ve had to go through the last year or so.”

The full SRA report is available online.

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josh.ryan@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @JoshRyanSports