With COVID-19 cases decreasing, real estate agents had their hands full of prospective buyers over the past two months. (Josh Ryan/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Josh Ryan

Buyer's season

Property market sees active spring despite pandemic

Jun 3, 2020 | 5:07 PM

Residents have largely been limited to their homes in Saskatchewan during the COVID-19 pandemic, but in the months since the initial lockdown, there’s an increasing number of people looking to buy and sell property.

Real estate agents have seen an uptick in calls for looking at homes since early April. Jayna Hannah of Better Homes and Gardens in the Battlefords said she was pretty surprised at recent activity from buyers, considering the conditions of the pandemic.

“Although the sales were slightly down, the dollar value was up over $400,000,” Hannah said. “So that was a positive for sure.”

A slight decrease in prices, coupled with lower interest rates, has provided an ideal time for those looking to buy property, she said. Hannah said a number of clients she’s dealt with are making the change to more permanent homes.

“We are seeing a lot of first time home buyers making that transition from renting to purchasing,” she said. “If they’ve got a down payment saved up, there’s some really great rates to take advantage of right now.”

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Initially clients were hesitant about meeting in person over transmission concerns, she said, but that’s changed as the infection curve has lowered.

“A lot of times we’ve done first showings virtually through FaceTime, just to give people a first look at the property before we take them through,” Hannah said. “But it is starting to relax a little bit more now.”

Re/Max has seen a similar trajectory in the Battlefords and Meadow Lake. Owner, broker and office manager Wally Lorenz said after everything slowed to a standstill in March, people began respecting social distancing rules and there’s been a consistent increase since, with May picking up once lake properties began selling.

“April picked back up again and we really saw April generate [decent] numbers,” Lorenz said. “The buyers had a bit of an opportunity as the prices came down.”

“We’re not back to normal by any means, but we’re all starting to become a little bit busier.”

(Josh Ryan/battlefordsNOW Staff)

Sellers unable to go to work have embarked on plenty of home improvement projects during the pandemic. Lorenz said that may help sell properties, but outside of significant renovations, it won’t inflate costs.

“You stick $20-30,000 into the house, you’re not getting 30,000 back out of it or going to be able to increase the value of the house by 30,000,” he said. “If the market swings around and starts seeing appreciated values come back, [then maybe] you’re going to recapture that.”

A dip in the market around the fall-winter season could signal another major slow down. However, Lorenz is hopeful a potential exodus from larger centres and a constant need for housing will keep them busy.

“Hopefully we can find our way through this and continue doing business,” he said.

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josh.ryan@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @JoshRyanSports