The Saskatoon and Region Home Builders Association’s new Housing Market Analysis looks at the first quarter of 2020; a period where COVID-19 seemingly affected every aspect of business. The report considers things like building permits, housing inventory, and key economic indicators. Association CEO Chris Guerette says, “The good news is we went into this COVID-19 period of disruption with positive momentum compared to the past two years.” New home sales increased by five per cent this quarter as compared to the same period a year ago. The demand for single family homes surged by 10 per cent.

On top of that, this is the first Q1 with a year-over-year sales increase since 2014. The analysis shows that the stock of unabsorbed inventory reduced 32 per cent from March 2019 and is current at its lowest level since 2013.

The number of new home and renovation permits increased 18 per cent and seven per cent respectively compared to the same period last year. We will have to wait for data from the second and this quarter to get a better picture of the impact of COVID-19 on the market.