Home sales within Moose Jaw took a significant hit in August dropping 29 per cent year-over-year for the month. 

According to Chris Guerette, Chief Executive Officer with the Saskatchewan Realtors Association (SRA), that has been the trend across the province.  

“When you take a look at the numbers in Moose Jaw it’s actually very similar to pre-pandemic numbers,” says Guerette. “If you take a look at August 2019 compared to August 2022, you are actually seeing a similar trend in sales.” 

In August, Moose Jaw only recorded 46 home sales, which as mentioned previously are down 29 per cent year-over-year, as well it’s down 10.7 per cent year-to-date. A positive note in August for Moose Jaw was the number of new listings saw a 14.7 per cent bump, as 121 houses came on the market.  

The province only saw 1,466 home sales in August, which was 2.7 per cent lower year-over-year but saw a 12.8 per cent increase over the 10-year average.  

Earlier in September, the Bank of Canada raised their key interest rate by three-quarters of a percentage point up to 3.25 per cent. Guerette explains that this will continue to have an impact on home sales within Moose Jaw and in the province. 

“It means that in our communities the purchasing power has been reduced significantly, not only in what you can purchase in real estate, but also what you can afford in your family budget and that’s changed almost overnight."  

She adds that this interest rate spike has impacted not only Saskatchewan but other provinces, and the real question is how much will it affect communities.  

“The communities that have been hit the hardest are the ones that already have challenges with affordability prices such as Vancouver, Toronto, surprisingly the Maritimes right now, and when you compare our numbers to that we’re actually fairing quite well.” 

Guerette’s biggest concern besides housing sales dropping is inventory levels seeing a significant drop in both Moose Jaw and provincially.  

Moose Jaw’s housing inventory dropped by 6.8 per cent year-over-year, with only 386 homes for sale, which is down 23.9 per cent over the last 10 years.   

In saying that, Guerette still believes Moose Jaw is a sellers' market, with some variables attached to that.  

“That’s such a big question, but it also depends on the neighbourhood and it depends on the type of house you have. Every house is different, and we do know that there are certain housing types that are not as popular as others. A very popular type of housing is a single-family home for a very modest price.” 

Currently, Moose Jaw has just over five months of supply as of August, which is a 6.6 increase year-over-year. Months of supply means how many months it would take for all the current homes for sale on the market to sell, given a monthly sales volume. Guerette notes that for a balanced housing market, six months of supply is average. 

Saskatchewan’s months of supply are sitting at just under five months, which is down nine per cent year-over-year for August.  

Lastly, in August Moose Jaw's total benchmark price jumped up half a per cent to $222,293. Provincially with a five per cent increase, the average benchmark price in Saskatchewan is $334,100. The benchmark price is the price of a typical home in a given area.