Swift Current’s August real estate sales numbers grow from a year ago

Although the August real estate market appears to be slowing down compared with June and July, we still see signs of strength. Across the province, year-overyear sales were up over 46 per cent from August of last year (and up over 14 per cent yearto-date), new listings were up nearly five per cent year-over-year (but down just over nine per cent year-to-date), and the median sale price was up over seven per cent (up 0.2 per cent year-to-date). Inventories were also down in 18 of the 19 markets that the SRA tracks. This suggests that people are still quite eager to buy and are continuing to find value in real estate.

“While there have been some COVID outbreaks across the province, the number of cases has been pretty small” said Saskatchewan REALTORS® Association CEO Jason Yochim, “and this doesn’t seem to have turned people off from buying and selling real estate.” The fact that we had two months of slow activity and that “we’ve almost made up all of that lost ground is simply amazing,” said Yochim.

Median sales prices were up in 14 of the 19 markets that the SRA tracks (with Yorkton and the broader region seeing the strongest declines), while the number of sales in all markets jumped anywhere from just under four per cent to close to 226 per cent (except for in Melfort, which saw sales fall 10 per cent). Again, this strong performance suggests that the sector has recovered from the devastation of the pandemic and that real estate is quite resilient.

June’s and July’s strong performance suggested that August would also be a strong month. As children start returning to school in September and the weather starts to get colder, however, we expect activity to slow down and fall off into Q4.

“August tends to be when things start to slow down a little,” said

Yochim, “but we’re still hearing reports of multiple offers and of houses being sold almost as soon as they’re listed.”

Although things are starting to “slow down” compared with earlier in the year, the market is in line with historical trends—and we still see generally strong performance.

Swift Current

Sales in Swift Current were up 53.3 per cent, going from 15 in August 2019 to 23 in August 2020, and up 17.6 per cent in the overall region, going from 34 to 40. In Swift Current, sales were 25.0 per cent above the five-year average (and 0.9 per cent above the 10-year average), while in the larger region, sales were 4.2 per cent above the five-year average (and 5.7 per cent below the 10-year average). Year-to-date (YTD) sales in Swift Current rose 15.6 per cent over last year, increasing from 154 to 178, while YTD sales in the larger region rose 11.8 per cent, going from 271 to 303.

Sales volume was up 89.8 per cent in the city, going from $3.5 million to $6.7 million in 2020 (41.0 per cent above the five-year average, and 13.9 per cent above the 10-year average). YTD sales volume in the city was $44.2 million, an increase of 12.2 per cent from last year. In the region, sales volume was up 5.4 per cent, going from $57.3 million to $60.4 million (15.4 per cent above the five-year average and 2.9 per cent above the 10-year average). YTD sales volume increased 5.4 per cent in the region, rising from $57.3 million in 2019 to $60.4 million in 2020.

In Swift Current, the number of new listings in August 2020 rose 37.5 per cent, going from 40 to 55 (21.1 per cent above the five-year average and 27.6 per cent above the 10-year average), while in the region, new listings rose 26.7 per cent from 86 last year to 109 this year (15.2 per cent below the five-year average and 11.7 per cent above the 10-year average). YTD new listings in the city fell 13.5 per cent, going from 416 to 360, while in the larger region, the number of new listings to date fell 8.6 per cent, going from 821 to 750. Active listings fell 25.4 per cent in Swift Current (down from 272 to 203) and fell 18.5 per cent in the region (down from 617 to 503).

Inventory in Swift Current stood at 8.8 months (which is 51.3 per cent below the level last year and 20.8 per cent below the five-year average), while the sales to listing ratio was 41.8 per cent, suggesting balanced market conditions. Inventory in the larger region stood at 12.6 months (which is 30.7 per cent below the level last year and 4.8 per cent below the fiveyear average), while the sales to listing ratio was 36.7 per cent, suggesting that market conditions favour buyers.

Homes in Swift Current stayed on the market an average of 85 days in August—down 39.3 per cent from 140 days last year (but below the five-year average of 100 days and above the 10year average of 83 days). Homes in the region stayed on the market longer than homes in the city at 89 days on average in 2020, but also down from an average of 108 days last year (and 5.3 per cent below the five-year average).

Median home prices in Swift Current went from $212,500 to $272,500 (an increase of 28.2 per cent) and were approximately 14.9 per cent above the five-year and 12.9 per cent above the 10-year average median price. Year-to-date, the median home price in Swift Current was $233,569 which is 0.2 per cent below the $233,938 price from the same time last year. Median home prices in the region went from $182,500 to $189,950 (an increase of 4.1 per cent) and were approximately 2.9 per cent above the five-year and 0.9 per cent above the 10-year average median price. Year-to-date, the median home price in the region was $179,157 which is 8.4 per cent below the $195,662 price from the same time last year.