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In the season of social distancing and staying at home, COVID-19 has impacted our economy harder than I believe any of us could have ever imagined. Stocks plummeted, gas prices reminded me of my teenage years, and travel is quickly becoming more and more of a distant memory. On the other hand, though, sports and fitness companies have seen more activity than ever and toilet paper has officially become a new currency!
With so many parts of the economy impacted in vastly different ways, it’s hard to know how every market is doing. So it only makes sense that one of the most common questions I’m getting right now is about how real estate has fared throughout all of this. And, let me tell you, it’s been a bit of a rollercoaster.
COVID-19’s Impact on Saskatchewan Real Estate
While many markets across the globe have seen a drastic decrease—some even shutting down entirely—the Saskatchewan real estate market has proved remarkably more resilient. True, we did see an initial decrease in activity in the preliminary phases of the provincial shutdown, but with the Re-Open Saskatchewan Plan now officially underway, the numbers continue to improve daily.
Part of Saskatchewan’s real estate resilience came particularly from the strongest start to the spring market we’ve seen in years. The March market started off with a “BOOM”, with new listings and sales busier than they have been in a long time, leading to a 7% increase in the market. Then…there was coronavirus, which slowed everything to a crawl with all the uncertainty it brought.
While the first couple weeks of pandemic pandemonium did cause about a 46% overall decrease in April, the trend did not last for too long. As restrictions slowly began easing, so did people’s wariness to continue their home search, and in the latter weeks of April we started to see the numbers going up—a trend we’re continuing to see as we move into May!
COVID-19 & Saskatoon’s Real Estate Market
While the province as a whole saw an overall decrease of about 46%, Saskatoon’s real estate market fared slightly better. In April, listings only saw a decrease of about 36%, while sales were down 34%—and both numbers continue to improve as the province continues to ease restrictions.
I believe this largely has to do with the fantastic and extensive precautions our Saskatoon REALTORS® have been doing to keep our clients safe throughout the real estate process.
How We Keep Saskatoon Real Estate Safe During COVID-19
With the privilege of being deemed an essential service since the beginning, we REALTORS® knew we had to do as much as we could to ensure we could still serve our clients to the best of our ability in the safest ways possible. Here are just some of the ways I’ve been able to pivot to provide safe real estate throughout the coronavirus pandemic so far:
Virtual Consultations allow me to still chat with you about your real estate needs and help you best define how we should move forward to achieve them.
Email Listings make it easy for me to share new listings with you as they come to market, so you never miss an opportunity, even when you may be self-isolating.
Virtual Tours & Live Open Houses are the newest ways we can show buyers your listings without them even having to set foot in your home. We can give them the opportunity to take a socially-distant tour around the house first to decide just how serious they are before requesting an in-person visit, limiting the foot traffic in your living space.
Waivers for Both Buyers and Sellers helps us to screen both parties invested in a viewing to ensure compliance with all isolation measures in place, helping to stop the spread.
Electronic Offers, Signatures, and Contracts give you the opportunity to take care of all the essential paperwork right from the comfort of your own couch!
Flexibility in Communication. I am here for you throughout your real estate journey, physically distant or not. That’s why you can always reach me by phone, email, or text, whichever is most convenient for you!
With the market now on an upswing and getting busier by the day, it seems the impact of the coronavirus on Saskatoon real estate is dwindling. Which means that if you’ve been thinking of buying or selling a house this year, now might just be the time to do it! Contact me today and let’s get started on reaching your real estate goals sooner.
