Today the SRA informed its members and the public that open houses can resume, with certain restrictions in place. When COVID-19 struck the province, the association asked all members to cease hosting open houses in the interest of public health and safety for members and homeowners. Now that the government of Saskatchewan has set a date for phase three of The Re-Open Saskatchewan Plan, the SRA feels confident that open houses can begin again. SRA members will take the following measures to keep buyers and sellers safe: All visitors will be required to conduct a verbal health waiver and provide their contact information to the attending REALTOR®. This will allow for contract tracing should someone who attended an open house report back after the showing that they have tested positive for COVID-19 or are ill. All homeowners will be required to sanitize their home before an open house. Incidences of [...]

COVID-19 has changed the way we live and work and how we socialize with family and friends. While it has been at times overwhelming, the association and real estate industry have really come together to show leadership, support for the community, and a major dose of optimism. In mid-March, the SRA mandated that open houses were prohibited, and the rest of the country followed that lead. Given that the province has extended the state of emergency to mid-May, the SRA board has mandated that open houses will not be permitted until further notice. We will re-evaluate this position at the end of May. The association has taken (and continues to take) steps to ensure that members have access to necessary resources to conduct essential business practices and earn a living while respecting the restrictions imposed by government and that they are able to maintain personal health and safety. Our approach [...]

SASKATCHEWAN REAL ESTATE MARKETS FARE BETTER THAN EXPECTED: poised to help boost provincial economy   May 5, 2020 For immediate release COVID-19 has had significant economic impact across all sectors of the economy. Despite those challenges, the Saskatchewan real estate market has been relatively resilient to date. While Q1 new listings and average prices were down 4.4% and 0.2% respectively over last year, Q1 sales were up 7.0%. The true impact of the pandemic, however, was not going to begin to be felt until April, and although activity was down, it was not down as much as anticipated. Across the province, new listings were down 48.1% from April of last year while sales were down 45.1%. This contrasts significantly from the SARS pandemic which saw transactions in some markets fall up to 72% and cease completely during COVID-19 in certain markets. Average home prices in April fell 3.2% year-over-year which [...]

Important Update RE Open Houses COVID-19 has changed the way we live and work and how we socialize with family and friends. While it has been at times overwhelming, the association and real estate industry have really come together to show leadership, support for the community and a major dose of optimism. The association has taken steps and continues to take steps to ensure that members have access to necessary resources to conduct essential business practices and earn a living while respecting the restrictions imposed by government and are able to maintain personal health and safety. In mid-March, the SRA mandated that open houses were prohibited, and the rest of the country followed that lead. Today is the last day of that prohibition. Given that the province has just extended its state of emergency for two more weeks and the many unknown factors around continued social distancing, the SRA board [...]

Saskatchewan REALTORS® Association Mandates Against Open Houses During COVID-19 Outbreak Saskatchewan REALTORS® are taking every action possible to protect public safety in-light of the COVID-19 outbreak. Most notably, the Saskatchewan REALTORS® Association (SRA) has made the decision not to support all open houses until further notice, effective immediately. The SRA has taken the unprecedented step to mandate a “no open house” rule for all members in the province. We recognize the economic impact this may have but feel an ethical responsibility to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19. “There has been a great deal of discussion about what we as an association can do to support the global efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19. Our industry is largely based on relationships. We’ve had to shift from making in-person connections to utilizing technology and tools wherever possible,” says SRA Chairperson Tim Otitoju. “Is it convenient? No. Is it necessary? We [...]