Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan is considered one of the best small municipalities to live in Canada, and one of the province’s fastest-growing cities in terms of population, investment and job formation. This southern Saskatchewan city has a deeply intriguing history, including connections to Al Capone and the underground Tunnels of Moose Jaw. Its rich heritage and culture, beautiful downtown buildings, and proximity to Saskatchewan’s second-largest city, Regina, make it a great place to settle down. It’s also one of few remaining affordable home-buying destinations in Canada. Here’s how the Moose Jaw real estate market has fared over the past few months:
Moose Jaw Real Estate Going Strong
Following a strong first half of the year, the Moose Jaw real estate market has shown little sign of slowing down. While some metrics have dropped year-over-year, they are still above typical values, indicating that the Moose Jaw housing market is still going strong.
At the end of July (the latest data available at the time of writing), the Saskatchewan city saw sales drop 27.7%, from 83 unit sales in July 2020 to 60 sales in 2021. While this drop may seem significant, residential unit sales for the month are still 9.1% above both the five- and 10-year averages. The broader region tallied unit sales that were 9.0% above the five-year average and 7.5% above the 10-year average, indicating that the market is still faring quite well.
On a year-to-date basis, sales for the first seven months of 2021 were an astonishing 47.7% higher than the same period in 2020. With 423 residential homes being sold from January to July of this year, demand is still hot. The broader region also saw year-to-date sales rise, with 547 home sales in 2021 compared to 381 in 2020.
While home prices in Moose Jaw have continued to rise, they are still significantly lower than the national average. At the end of July 2021, the MLS Home Price Index (HPI) registered the residential benchmark price in Moose Jaw at $220,600; an increase of 6.3% compared to the same time last year.
The price increase combined with the decrease in residential home sales resulted in a 29.9% decline in sales volume, from $21 million in July 2020 to $14.7 million in 2021. Despite the decline, this is still 8.6% higher than the five-year average and 10.1% above the 10-year average.
The number of new listings in July 2021 was down 14.8% compared to 2020, from 108 to 92. New listings were also down compared to typical averages for the month of July. While supply may not be as high as usual, it was still up 46% compared to last year, however, is about 33.8% below the five-year average.
Closing out the summer strong and steady, Moose Jaw completed the third quarter of 2021 with months of inventory for single-detached homes increasing to 5.4 months. During this time, the market has had a chance to begin to balance out, however homes are still selling at a quick pace. The median number of days on market for a single-detached home in the third quarter of 2021 was just 41.5, down from 45 days at the same time in 2020.
Compared to figures coming out of the province of Saskatchewan, Moose Jaw real estate sits comfortably below the provincial averages, particularly in terms of average price. As is typical in many smaller markets, the average price of a home in Moose Jaw is 23.4% below the provincial average price, indicating that the city is still in more neutral territory than other parts of the province.
In comparison to many other home-buying hot spots across both Saskatchewan and Canada, the Moose Jaw real estate landscape appears to be closer to the buyer-seller equilibrium, which is hopeful news for first-time homebuyers who have struggled to tap into the market amid soaring prices over the past 18 months.
Whether you’re a first-time homebuyer or have been closely watching the up-and-coming prairie housing markets, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, could be the place for you, where the housing prices sit well below the national average and a rich culture.
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