Buyers remain frustrated as Melfort housing inventory stays low

Sales slowed during the summer, which Luthi said is not unusual, as people often take that time of year to go to the lake or other holiday destinations. That was also the trend provincially, with a three per cent drop in sales in August across Saskatchewan compared to the previous August.

The lack of housing inventory is borne out by the numbers. There are currently just nine active residential listings on the market in Melfort, while four others are conditionally sold.

“We are sitting with about two months of inventory supply.”

Luthi said she hopes that the number of listings increases as the busier fall season approaches. She added that a lot of people make a push to get into a home before Christmas, and it very much remains a buyer’s market.

“If you were on the fence about selling, I would highly recommend you reach out to a realtor to discuss your options, because it is still an excellent time to move property,” said Luthi.

Some baby boomers and others may be looking to downsize into a condo or a duplex, which would start to increase the number of houses on the market. However, that hasn’t been an option recently, according to Luthi.

“We have virtually zero [condos or duplexes] on the market,” Luthi said. “The last couple of duplexes that have hit the market were a very hot commodity and sold very quickly. As far as condos as well, we certainly need more of those in our market to accommodate people that are looking to downsize.”

Luthi said five years ago, condos were difficult to move, and now they “are flying off the shelves.” Many of the condos that have been sold lately have not even hit the market prior to sale.

“I do think that we do need to accommodate more housing opportunities for people looking to downsize,” Luthi said. “Whether that’s a developer coming into Melfort to help us put up new condos, people that have been maybe on the fence about selling their condo because they’re moving elsewhere, now’s a really good time to sell, and same with duplexes.”

Prices in Melfort are similar to where they were earlier this year, according to Luthi. She said there haven’t been many houses over $400,000 sold this year, so it would be nice to see more of them on the market with an active buying market for homes in that price range.

There have been a few more commercial properties listed for sale as of late, including two locations in the StoneGate shopping centre. The Melfort Liquor Loft recently hit the market, as did land for a hotel development just northeast of the current Backstage location.

Luthi said the city does need more commercial space available to lease.

“I think that we have a lot of startup businesses that would love to come and be part of Melfort, but we just don’t have anywhere to house them at this time.”

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cam.lee@pattisonmedia.com

by Cam Lee

Buyers remain frustrated as Melfort housing inventory stays low

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