Saskatoon NewsSaskatoon Real Estate News November 21, 2013

Affordable housing in need

Affordable housing is in demand in Saskatoon and developers are taking note. Another new project is underway in the Riversdale area which will see the addition of several two storey condos, each with a garage. Layouts include studio, 1, or 2 bedroom units ranging up to 1,446 sq ft in size.

The project is called Mosaic and will be located at 313 Avenue D South. Prices start at $210,000 with comparable units priced at $260,000. This development is a part of the HeadStart On A Home program through the government. The program is designed to assist entry level buyers with affordable housing options by ensuring that units are priced at or below comparable MLS sale prices.

This comes just after a report was released by the Frontier Centre that rated Saskatoon’s housing market as seriously unaffordable. It ranked as the ninth least affordable city in Canada, taking in to account the median house price and the median gross annual income.

The report states that in order to ensure housing bubbles are not triggered, house prices should remain under three times the annual housing earnings. Which would mean that Saskatoon’s house prices should be under 3x $66,500 (the median gross annual earnings) or $199,500 to make housing affordable.

One other builder helping to alleviate the issue of affordable housing is North Prairie Developments. Chaparral Ridge in Martensville offers 4 different condo styles with prices ranging from $199,900-$222,900 + GST. At these prices, it’s within the recommended house price to make housing affordable. Please visit my website for more information on Chaparral Ridge.

 

Kari Calder

Saskatoon Real Estate Agent

Century 21 Fusion

kari@saskatoonrealestate.net