Garth George knows all about how timing can pay off in Western Canada's hot real estate market.
The 25-year-old commercial pilot recently sold his starter home in Edmonton for triple his buying price and took a job flying for a charter airline that services Saskatchewan's growing mining and energy sector. Last month, he paid over asking price for a move-up home in a nice Saskatoon neighbourhood. His competition on the deal? Eight other bidders from Alberta.
"I just got in at the bottom of the curve in Edmonton," Mr. George said. "I lucked out. Now I don't have any debt and I'm 25 years old."
Home buyers are running back to Saskatoon, fuelling a real estate frenzy in the city that has pushed average housing prices up more than 27 per cent in the first quarter and added $40,000 to the price of a typical home in just three months. In better sections of the city, agents say the increases have run in the 40-per-cent range. Last month, the average price of a home in the city cracked $200,000 for the first time.
"It's hotter than a pistol," said Harry Janzen, the executive officer of the Saskatoon Region Association of Realtors who has close to three decades of experience in real estate.
Mr. Janzen said the dramatic shift in the market began in mid-January and continues today with multiple offers and bidding wars that have caused the city's real estate agents to seek advice from colleagues in Toronto and Calgary on how to handle such situations. "We've never seen anything like this before," Mr. Janzen said. "It's kind of fun, but its also kind of scary."
What's driving the trend?
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