COVID-19 is not keeping Saskatchewan’s real estate market down. The Saskatchewan Realtors Association says the market is strong and outperforming last year’s. Sales were up about 38 per cent last month compared to a year ago and up about 20 per cent year-to-date. New listings were up only one per cent and were down 6.6 per cent year-to-date. The median sale price was up 7.8 per cent and up 3.6 per cent year-to-date. The median rose from $255,000 to $275,000. Inventories were down in 16 of the 19 markets tracked. The SRA says consumer confidence is high in this province despite the falling economic resilience across the country, due to the second wave of COVID-19.

Sales in Saskatoon in October were up nearly 41 per cent compared to October 2019. Sales here were 32.5 per cent higher than the five-year average. Year-to-date sales in the city rose about 15 per cent over last year. Homes in the city stayed on the market for an average of 42 days; that was down from 53 days last year. Median home prices went from $302,500 to $330 thousand. Year-to-date, the median home price was about $331 thousand.