Pandemic Impacts Home Sales - Median Price Drops

Provincially year over year residential property sales were down in April due to the COVID - 19 pandemic.

But the results were better than expected with even one market, North Battleford, experiencing higher sales in April 2020 versus the same month in 2019 says the Saskatchewan Realtors Association.

Despite the accolades about how it was better than expected provincially Moose Jaw's residential property market found itself hammered in April 2020 versus the same month in 2019.

A major hiccup to the Moose Jaw market was not just the reduction in the number of homes sold in April but also the median price took a major tumble compared to April 2019.

Median home prices in Moose Jaw went from $247,500 to $175,500 (a decrease of 29.1%) and were approximately 21.1% below the 5-year and 22.6% below the 10-year average median price.

Despite the major sales volume drops the Saskatchewan Realtors s Association said the provincial numbers were not as bad as anticipated.

Across the province, new listings were down 48.1 percent from April of last year while sales were down 45.1 percent.

This contrasts significantly from the SARS pandemic which saw transactions in some markets fall up to 72 percent and cease completely during COVID-19 in certain markets. Provincially average home prices in April fell 3.2 percent year-over-year which is consistent with the modest price decline experienced in other markets affected by pandemics.

Evidence from prior pandemics suggest that transaction volumes return to normal quite quickly once physical distancing measures are relaxed, the industry watchdog says.

If home sales do pick up as expected each home sale on aaverag produces approximately $54,000 in additional spinoff spending across multiple sectors of the economy.

Reduced restrictions on the home buying process have the potential to boost employment and help the provincial economy to recover and offset some losses in other areas of the economy.

At present the Saskatchewan Realtors Association has asked its members to not hold open houses which are often major drivers for sales.

Overall sales in Moose Jaw were down 60 percent going from 50 in April 2019 to 20 in April 2020, and down 39 percent in the overall region, going from 59 to 36.

In Moose Jaw, sales were 53.9 percent below the 5-year average (and 58.3 percent below the 10-year average), while in the larger region, sales were 33.8 percent below the 5-year average (and 40.3 percent below the 10-year average). Year-to-Date (YTD) sales in Moose Jaw fell 24.8 percent over last year, going from 133 to 100, but YTD sales in the larger region only fell a modest 2.6 percent going from 155 to 151.

Sales volume was down 68.1 percent in the city, going from $12.1 million to $3.9 million in 2020 (63.3 percent below the 5-year average, and 67.3 percent below the 10-year average).

YTD sales volume in the city was $21.5 million, a decrease of 32 percent from last year. In the region, sales volume was down 56.3 percent going from $12.9 million to $5.6 million (52.7 percent below the 5-year average and 58.4 percent below the 10-year average). YTD sales volume also fell 17 percent in the region, going from $34.2 million in 2019 to $28.1 million in 2020.

The number of new listings in April 2020 fell significantly from the number last year.

In Moose Jaw, new listings fell 61 percent, going from 123 to 48 (57.ercent below the 5-year average and 60.0 percent below the 10-year average), while in the region, new listings fell 58.8 percent from 182 last year to 75 this year.

Active listings also fell 25.1% in Moose Jaw (down from 334 to 250) and 17.6 percent in the region (down from 578 to 476).

The sales to listing ratio was 41.7 percent in Moose Jaw and 48 percent in the region suggesting somewhat balanced market conditions in the area.

Homes in Moose Jaw stayed on the market an average of 63 days in April—down 13.7 percent from 73 days last year (in line with the 5-year average of 64 days and the 10-year average of 58).

Homes in the region stayed on the market somewhat longer than homes in the city at 94 days on average in 2020, but also increasing from an average of 87 days last year.

Median home prices in the region also fell 25.6 percent, going from $200,000 to $148,750 which is 24.2 percent below the 5-year and 27.4 percent below the 10-year average median price.