Record Highs for Housing in Saskatchewan by Sahil Panhwer

by Sahil Panhwer | For Ms. Walling's Blog Spot | Posted on January 23rd, 2023

Image posted by Sahil Panhwer, 2023

The house prices in Saskatchewan are at an all time high. Many residents of the province are concerned about this rise as it makes buying a home too expensive. There are many reasons for this spike, the primary reason is that Saskatchewan's population is growing too quickly, and all the newcomers want to buy homes and find a place to live. Due to the increased demand house prices are going up to an absurd amount making it almost impossible for people to buy a house. 

A report released by Saskatchewan's Housing Continuum Network blames a lack of supplies as a primary reason for rising house prices in Saskatchewan.  There are simply not enough homes for the demand of buyers, which hikes up the prices of homes to a preposterous amount. The reason for there not being enough homes is because new homes are not being built fast enough and existing homeowners with several properties do not want to sell their homes. 

The Bank of Nova Scotia released an article in 2022 blaming inflation as a prime reason for house prices going up. As the dollar loses its value, banks start to fear a recession and that the dollar will lose even more value. So when current home owners renew their mortgages, banks give an outrageous amount of interest on mortgages (up to nine percent interest rate). This raises house prices as there is more interest in the long-term, meaning even more expensive homes.

The housing crisis isn't all problems as there are many solutions which can battle this predicament. One of the solutions that politicians are trying to implement is increasing Saskatchewan's housing supply. This can be done by incentivizing the development of new housing projects, such as the building of more affordable housing and making the process of building your own home simpler. The government is thinking about making policies where they encourage homeowners to put their homes on the market which increases the amount of homes for sale. 

An additional solution to this dilemma is to create more affordable financing options for first-time homeowners. This could be low-interest loans or mortgage assistance programs. This financial advice and help would make buying a home much more simple and accessible to more people regardless of their financial situation. A lot of people are quick to blame the government, and only want the government to solve their problems, however we need the private sector to step in and develop innovative solutions to make houses affordable again. The private sector could work with local organizations to build more houses, they could also collaborate with housing developers to create more affordable ownership options.

To summarize this crisis, rising prices of homes in Saskatchewan is very concerning, however there are solutions that can be implemented. If we implement these solutions it would help ensure that everyone in Saskatchewan has a place to call home. Increasing the supply of housing, make owning a home cheaper, and adding financial assistance are ways that this crisis can be solved.  It is crucial to look at both the long term and short term approach to all these solutions.

Work Cited

Shield, David. “Saskatchewan Housing Continuum Network Projects Deficit of 100,000 Housing Units.” Saskatchewan REALTORS® Association, Saskatchewan Housing Continuum Network, 17 May 2022, https://saskatchewanrealtorsassociation.ca/saskatchewan-housing-continuum-network-projects-deficit-of-100000-housing-units/. 

Lalonde, René. “The Higher the Rate, the Bigger the Fall.” Post, Scotiabank, 25 Aug. 2022,https://www.scotiabank.com/ca/en/about/economics/economics-publications/post.other-publications.housing.housing-note.housing-note--august-25-2022-.html. 

Ackerman, Jennifer. Sask. Mayors Call on Province for More Concrete Action to Address ... Last Chance, 12 July 2022, https://leaderpost.com/news/saskatchewan/sask-mayors-call-on-province-for-more-concrete-action-to-address-affordable-housing-vacancies. 

Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA). "Average home price in Canada." crea.ca, Canadian Real Estate Association, 2021, https://www.crea.ca/housing-market-stats/national-statistics/average-price/