Housing sales slow in Regina area in June

Regina’s housing market is in a lull.

According to figures released Wednesday by the Association of Regina Realtors, home sales in the Regina area in June were down 17.2 per cent from June of 2018.

There were 299 sales reported during the month in the area, compared to 361 in June of 2018. The total last month was the lowest June sales total since 2005, when there were 298 sales.

It also was well below the five-year average of 393 and the 10-year average of 391 sales.

In Regina itself, sales were down from 284 in June of 2018 to 248 last month. The total from June also was below the five-year (308) and 10-year averages (319) for that month.

The association noted that its calculations showed the average cost of a house in the city in June was $269,400, down four per cent from $280,800 in June of 2018.

The reason, the association said, was a result of “downward pressure on home prices due predominantly to elevated supply levels and lower levels of demand.”

The association noted in its report that there was 6.4 months of inventory in the Regina housing market at the end of June, up from 6.1 months last year and “substantially more than any June in the previous 10 years.”

“After a comparatively good start to the year up to April, sales levels in May and June were very disappointing, falling well below historical levels,” Gord Archibald, the association’s chief executive officer, said in a media release. “These two months are typically two of the strongest each year, but that was not the case in 2019.

“The effects of weaker economic growth coupled with federal policy making it more difficult for buyers to qualify for financing has dampened demand and the number of sales.”

Despite lower sales in June, the association said year-to-date sales in the Regina area are 1,592 homes — an increase of 1.3 per cent over 2018. In the city, there were 1,335 sales, up 4.8 per cent from 2018.

That said, the association noted that the sales in the area in June accounted for $88.8 million, a decrease of 22.5 per cent from the $114.5 million generated in June of 2018.