Housing Future in Regina

Every single immigrant coming to Regina, Saskatchewan wants to buy a house for his/her own. However, in this economic downturn, is it suitable to take a burden of credit from banks to buy houses.

In Leader-post articles on these days, housing prices are anticipated to increase slightly in 2009 due to some major construction occurring in Regina and the stream of coming-in labor force. People have a lot of concerns on greedy real estate agents, realtors and their friends making profit from artificial housing prices. That they buy some and sit on them for a short time, then relist with a higher price.

Regina people are still waiting housing market to cool down so that they can get a better deal. By now, the average price for a detached bungalow in Regina was $245,000 for the last 3-4 months. Compared with the wage level from other province, Regina people face higher housing prices. A normal detached bungalow in north Regina costs $ 255,800 compared with their counterparts in South Regina of $290,000. Some recommend waiting. Some say, houses do have their annual increase in value but when put in comparison with the provincial economic growth, it stays the same.

Basically, I believe housing prices will keep at least stable due to two big constructions happening in the city. One is of Consumers’ Co-operative Refineries Limited (CCRL), the world's first co-operatively owned refinery with the mission of supplying local co-operative associations with quality petroleum products. It is expanding the company's refinery and upgrader complex in north Regina.

There is another construction that The Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure, in partnership with the Government of Canada and the City of Regina, CP Rail and the Rural Municipality of Sherwood, is working to develop a new inter-modal transportation facility and related road infrastructure in the west of the city. This project sometimes is called Transportation Hub. These projects alone can create a lot of jobs for local people. Then when they are finished, the city economy will be heated with a better industrial transport system and many open vacancies from CCRL.

In current time, Regina does not have enough skilled labors and trade workers for these building sites. And still the province in general is short of labor force. The coming-in stream of immigrants to Saskatchewan keeps its progress going. Then, in the near future, soon or later, those who do not have a house will have a need to buy one, not bother to rent on a saving basis.

Any way, just wait for some next few days for news on reports of housing price trend.

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