Moose Jaw’s housing market continued its blistering sales pace in May, as the number of homes sold here was more than double compared to the same time in 2020.
Sales were up 125 per cent year over year, with 72 homes sold last month compared to 32 units sold in May 2020, data from the Saskatchewan Realtors Association (SRA) shows. The number of sales in May was above the five-year average of 54 units sold and above the 10-year average of 63 homes sold.
There have been 280 homes sold year-to-date, compared to 132 units sold during the same time last year, an increase of 112.1 per cent.
The volume of sales nearly doubled year over year, as the number of homes sold in May generated $18.8 million compared to 7.6 million during the fifth month of 2020, an increase of 146.6 per cent, the data showed. This amount of money generated was above the five-year average of $14 million and above the 10-year average of $16.7 million.
This year’s year-to-date sales volume in Moose Jaw was $66.4 million, an increase from $29.1 million — or a jump of 127.9 per cent — compared to the first five months of last year.
The number of new listings in Moose Jaw nearly doubled year-over-year, as 121 homes were placed on the market in May compared to 63 units in May 2020 for a jump of 92.1 per cent. May’s increase was also above the five-year average of 108 new listings and above the 10-year average of 117 new listings.
Year-to-date new listings in the city increased to 93 homes compared to 67 units during the first five months of last year, the data indicated. Meanwhile, active listings increase to 245 units from 244 units.
In May, the inventory of homes in Moose Jaw stood at 3.4 months, below last year’s level of 7.6 months, below the five-year average of 5.9 months and below the 10-year average of 4.9 months. Meanwhile, the sales-to-listing ratio was 59.5 per cent, which suggests balanced market conditions that favour neither the seller nor buyer.
Homes in Moose Jaw stayed on the market an average of 48 days last month, down from 83 days last year, down from the five-year average of 68 days and down from the 10-year average of 57 days.
It cost buyers a little more in May to purchase a home compared to the same time last year, as the home price index indicated that a single-family home in Moose Jaw cost $226,900 compared to $204,200, a jump of 11.1 per cent.
Provincial perspective
There were 1,853 homes sold throughout the province last month, an increase from 1,242 units sold during the same time in 2020, data from the SRA showed. Year-to-date, there have been 7,513 homes sold in Saskatchewan compared to 3,978 units sold last year.
The cost to buy a home in Saskatchewan also jumped to $288,300, increasing from $265,800 or 8.4 per cent.
“May was about as strong as April,” said Chris Gbekorbu, SRA’s economic analyst. “Markets have been gaining momentum since last May, when some pandemic restrictions were lifted. And at some point, things need to start steady,” but market indicators suggest the current pace should hold.
It’s too early to tell what kind of effect the new mortgage rules will have on markets, he continued. When new regulations were introduced in 2018, the SRA saw a jump in sales right before the new rules came into effect, followed by a drop in sales of one per cent.
While sales and prices may fall somewhat in the coming month as buyers re-evaluate their finances, the drop is likely to be temporary, Gbekorbu added.
