Saskatchewan real estate sets another record in April, Swift Current sales on the rise

The Saskatchewan real estate market continues to build momentum and set another sales record in April.

Across the province, there were 1,865 homes sold (up nearly 182% from last April and up 97.2% year-to-date, going from 2,208 to 3,795), new listings were up over 41% (and up 13.9% year-to-date, going from 2,870 to 5,660,) and the MLS® Home Price Index composite was up 10.5% (up 8.2% year-to-date, going from $256,900 to $283,900). Inventories were also down in all 24 markets that the SRA tracks. 

“It’s not really fair to compare this April to last April since pandemic restrictions halted activity for part of April last year,” said Chris Gbekorbu, SRA’s Economic Analyst. “But it is fair to compare April with other years, and just like last month, we set another record with 1,865 sales. 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.” 

This strong demand combined with falling inventory levels is putting upward pressure on prices. The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) composite was up in 14 of the 15 markets where these data are available (with Estevan showing a 0.1% decline while Swift Current and Meadow Lake saw the greatest increases), while the number of sales were up in all 24 markets. 

With supply shrinking and demand continuing to outpace supply, there was the potential for new listings to dry up and further reduce the supply of homes for sale. But even in smaller markets across the province, this hasn’t been the case and there seems to be a steady supply of homes becoming available. 

According to Gbekorbu, “new listings were up significantly in 23 of 24 markets, suggesting that people are still quite motivated to sell and helping to ease supply concerns.” As a result, the market remains strong and isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. 

The increased market activity has also allowed the SRA to partner with the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) to expand its coverage of the MLS® HPI tool to 15 markets across the province. The MLS® HPI gives a better indicator of price trends than average or median prices and gives REALTORS® an extra tool to help them develop more accurate pricing information for clients. 

Swift Current and Region 

Sales in Swift Current were up 180.0% going from 15 in April 2020 to 42 in April 2021, and up 212.5% in the overall region, going from 24 to 75. In Swift Current, sales were 44.8% above the 5-year average (and 47.9% above the 10-year average), while in the larger region, sales were 60.9% above the 5-year average (and 55.6% above the 10-year average). Year-to-Date (YTD) sales in Swift Current rose 62.1% over last year, increasing from 66 to 107, while YTD sales in the larger region rose 81.6%, going from 103 to 187. 

Sales volume was up 266.2% in the city, going from $3.3M to $12.3M in 2021 (50.9% above the 5-year average, and 57.8% above the 10-year average). In the region, sales volume was up 237.1%, going from $4.9M to $16.4M (59.0% above the 5-year average, and 57.2% above the 10-year average). YTD sales volume in the city was $30.1M, an increase of 98.8% from last year, while in the region, YTD sales volume was $41.1M, an increase of 106.3% from last year. 

In Swift Current, the number of new listings in April 2021 rose 82.9%, going from 35 to 64 (13.1% above the 5-year average and 21.4% above the 10-year average), while in the region, new listings rose 82.3%, going from 62 last year to 113 this year (5.6% above the 5-year average and 4.0% above the 10-year average). YTD new listings in the city rose 26.3%, going from 38 to 48, while in the larger region, the number of new listings to date rose 22.0%, going from 76 to 93. Active listings fell 2.1% in Swift Current (down from 190 to 186) and fell 6.8% in the region (down from 474 to 442). 

Inventory in Swift Current stood at 4.4 months (which is 65.0% below the level last year and 31.5% below the 5-year average), while the sales to listing ratio was 65.6%, suggesting that market conditions favour sellers. Inventory in the larger region stood at 5.9 months (which is 70.2% below the level last year and 41.6% below the 5-year average), while the sales to listing ratio was 66.4%, suggesting that market conditions favour sellers. 

Homes in Swift Current stayed on the market an average of 83 days in April, down 21.7% from 106 days last year (but below the 5-year average of 87 days and above the 10-year average of 74 days). Homes in the region stayed on the market longer than homes in the city at 96 days on average in 2021, also down from an average of 127 days last year (and 5.0% below the 5-year average). 

The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI)—a more accurate measure of house price trends—saw the price of the benchmark single family home in Swift Current rise 24.2% year-over-year, going from $208,600 to $259,000.