Market shows some resilience
Once upon a time, people roamed Canadian cities and towns on pleasant weekends, seeking real estate open houses.
Neighbours, acquaintances and the merely curious joined actual house hunters for a peek at the latest listings, seeking decorating tips, craving market intelligence or making comparisons to their own homes.
As with everything else, that came to a screeching halt when the COVID -19 pandemic closed the doors on practically every pastime. The Saskatchewan Realtors Association (SRA) shut down open houses in early March, among the early movers on this pandemic necessity. Online video tours largely took their place, although that has been a coming trend for some time.
“Right off the bat, we mandated against open houses for our members. We felt it was a move to not only protect them, but to protect the consumer and also to provide an element of confidence for the consumer,” said SRA CEO Jason Yochim.
The mandate was removed on May 25 as part of the Saskatchewan government’s reopening plan, although restrictions remain in place. Yochim hopes agents can one day just open the doors again, but it’s best not to hold one’s breath.
“We’re making a recommendation to our members that even though you can have 15 people indoors, it’s not a good idea,” Yochim said. “We strongly recommend against having more people in the home than you can supervise.”
Some agents have resumed holding open houses; others have decided against it for now. If held, the SRA recommends people keep their shoes on or wear booties; that they wait outside and text the agent upon arrival; that only two people tour the home at a time; and that they sanitize hands and don’t touch anything, allowing the agent to open doors or turn on lights. In addition, visitors must sign a form for contact tracing, just to be safe.
The SRA has also adopted punitive measures in the form of monetary fines if members choose to ignore the precautions.
As the province reopens, the market seems to be responding, at least in some cities. As of June 11, 4,975 homes had sold yearto-date in Saskatchewan, down from 5,414 in 2019. While that’s a significant drop, it’s not even close to the dire expectations; Yochim said the SRA anticipated a 70- to 75-per-cent decline in April.
“In April, we only saw a 50-percent decline provincially. We attribute that to consumer confidence, because I think we took the necessary proactive steps.
“Then, in May, we were at about 80 per cent of what we had last May, so we recovered fairly quickly.”
In Saskatoon to the end of May, agents sold 1,261 homes, down 14 per cent from 1,470 last year. The market had a strong first quarter, but even so the year-to-date numbers are good, considering the lockdown.
Regina’s market was slightly weaker, with 856 homes sold May year-to-date, down 22 per cent from last year’s 1,100. Yochim characterizes that as not great, but not too bad, considering the pandemic.
Saskatchewan’s other cities fall into the mixed-bag category. Sales in Melfort, for example, were up 33 per cent last month; but Melfort is a small market with eight sales in May, up from six last May. Still, sales were heading in the right direction.
North Battleford sales were down, but Prince Albert, where the market has been fairly soft for a couple of years, had May numbers identical to last year. Year-to-date, 118 homes sold in P.A., down from 125 last year. Moose Jaw sales fell to 132 from 182, for a 27.5 per cent decline.
Inventory has dropped in the two main cities, particularly during the COVID -19 lockdown period. That has led to a few multiple offers, which is encouraging, because they help sustain average and median prices, Yochim said.
Across the province, new listings were down about 20 per cent in May, and the median sale
When we look across Canada, and even globally, we’ve seen a number of (fly-in) operations suspend production. It’s all for a similar reason — the mining sector wants to make sure they’re not a pathway for COVID to enter into communities ... Pam Schwann, Saskatchewan Mining Association
We’re making a recommendation to our members that even though you can have 15 people indoors, it’s not a good idea.
price was down 5.7 per cent. Saskatoon’s median price is in the $338,000 range, while Regina’s is at $285,000.
Commercial real estate remains a point of speculation. Yochim said some commercial tenants are taking the opportunity to move up from Grade C to B and B to A spaces. Some businesses may shrink their footprints, he noted, but others are saying they may rent larger spaces to provide for social distancing.
The SRA also lobbied the government to make some changes to the Real Estate Act, including allowing for virtual signatures, which was passed a few weeks ago. This removes the need for sitting side by side and touching the same papers and pens to sign documents.
In general, the Saskatchewan real estate market has thus far shown some resilience post-lockdown. Only time will tell whether the days of wide-open houses or in-office document signings return.