‘Don’t have enough housing’: Saskatoon housing prices soar above Prairie average

A recent study shows that Saskatoon’s housing prices are significantly higher than the rest of the Prairies.

A recent study has placed Saskatoon as one of the most expensive places to buy a home in the Prairies.

Century 21 recently released its price per square foot comparison of real estate across Canada, and Saskatoon is sitting at an average of $377 per square foot for a detached home.

This price is more expensive than both Winnipeg and Edmonton in terms of buying a home.

Gary Busch, the broker owner of Century 21 Fusion Saskatoon, says the cost of purchasing a home in Saskatoon has been steadily on the rise as many new Canadians make their way to the country.

“As Canadians, we’re used to a lot of the immigration coming to the big centers, Toronto and Vancouver, but they’ve become so unaffordable to live in, both for rent and for purchase, that for most people coming from another country, they just can’t afford it,” Busch said.

These prices are evident in the study, which lists a detached house in Vancouver at $860 per square foot, and a condo in downtown Toronto at $622 per square foot.

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These steep prices have resulted in the Saskatchewan prairies seeing a significant boom in population.

“We have a lot more people moving into the province, and that’s creating a demand. As you’ve seen over the last several years with our healthcare and school systems, we just weren’t ready for that many people to come to Saskatchewan, so we’re playing catch-up right now,” Busch said.

According to Busch Saskatoon typically sees a higher price than Regina (which is currently listed at $298 per square foot) because of the city’s business community and opportunities.

“We have jobs, we have high-paying jobs. And so we’re getting a lot of people coming in here,” Busch said.

Busch says prices have been steadily increasing since the COVID-19 pandemic, and folks shouldn’t expect to see them drop anytime soon.

“We’re generally going to see slightly more increases again for the next one or two years, for sure. We still don’t have enough housing for the people that we currently have, and we’re probably still going to gain some more people over the next little while,” Busch said.

While prices are on the rise, Saskatoon still remains on the more affordable side compared to Canada’s largest urban centres. Currently, the most expensive place to call home is downtown Vancouver, where a condo will run for $1,206 per square foot.

Busch says these changing prices do not change his advice to those considering buying a home.

“Real estate is always your best investment. It’s safe, and you need a place to live anyway, so it might as well be yours,” Busch said.