Real estate prices continued to drop in August

It might be a good time to be buying a home in Regina.

In its August report, the Association of Regina Realtors noted that its Home Price Index indicated the benchmark for home prices in Regina is $267,900, down 3.9 per cent from $278,700 in August of 2018.

The benchmark price is down 10.5 per cent from three years ago and 9.4 per cent from five years ago.

The association said the falling prices are due to low demand, which it said was caused by economic factors and federal mortgage stress rules.

“Looking ahead, both projected economic and job growth in the local area are encouraging,” Gord Archibald, the association’s CEO, said in a media release. “This should translate into an uptick in demand and sales.

“There has been no better time for a buyer to purchase a home – there’s plenty of choice and prices are at their lowest level in many years.”

Some buyers already may have taken note of that.

According to the association, there were 314 homes sold in the Regina area in August, an increase of three per cent over August of 2018 (when there were 305 sales). Both numbers were well below the five-year average (347) and 10-year average of (354).

Year to date, there have been 1,833 homes sold in the city, up four per cent over the same period last year (1,762). Since January, there have been 4,990 new listings – a drop of 9.9 per cent from the 5,540 listed in the first eight months of 2018.