ASR Donates to Food Bank

ASR Executive Vice President Bill Madder is shown presenting Deborah Hamp from the Saskatoon Food Bank and Learning Centre with a cheque for $500. Rather than mailing traditional holiday cards, the ASR sent out electronic cards and is making a cash donation to the Saskatoon Food Bank. In a year where the spotlight has shone on our profession and our province, this is a positive way for REALTORS to impact the Quality of Life in our own community.

Thanks to a generous initiative from the Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan this donation (and all donations to all food banks in Saskatchewan until Dec 31st) will be matched to bring the total benefit to the Food Bank to $1000.

November MLS® System Stats

The November MLS® System stats for Saskatoon and Regina were released this week - Regina's total dollar volume reached $1 Billion for the first time. The markets in both cities remain strong with positive outlooks for 2012.

Regina's Stats are here: Regina Stats
Saskatoon's Stats are here: Saskatoon Stats

Canadian home sales edge higher in October

The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) released the October MLS® System Stats and most markets across the country remain positive. Here is the media release.

CREA also updated their Housing Forecast - the updated version can be found here.

Remembrance Day

The Association of Saskatchewan REALTORS office will be closed November 11th to observe Remembrance Day. Please be sure to take a moment to remember those who gave their lives for our country. We will be open for regular business hours on Monday November 14th at 8:30 am.

October MLS® System Stats

The October MLS® System stats for Saskatoon and Regina were released this week - Regina had another record month while Saskatoon's market cooled a bit. The markets in both cities are well ahead of last year's level and the outlook remains positive.
Regina's Stats are here: Regina Stats - October
Saskatoon's Stats are here: Saskatoon Stats - October



As always, your comments are welcome.

Saskatchewan Election Campaign

The Saskatchewan Provincial Election Campaign has passed its halfway point with Election Day set for November 7th. The Association of Saskatchewan REALTORS® has been raising awareness of housing issues during the provincial election. Real estate is a major economic driver and a true indicator of the health of our province so policies and programs that have an impact on the real estate market impact everyone.

The two major issues we will be raising are: Housing Supply and Tax Competitiveness. To support our positions, we commissioned a survey by Praxis Analytics which asked questions of over 650 Saskatchewan voters on rent, taxes and housing issues. The details of the survey will be released as the campaign proceeds.

Here is a brief update of the ASR's election activities so far:

We have added a new page to our website to deal specifically with the election. Here is a link to the page: ASR Election Page. We distributed the following media releases to various media outlets around the province: media release from Oct. 12, 2011; media release from Oct. 19, 2011; media release from Oct 26, 2011. We have also created a Housing Matters Blog to keep followers updated on our issues and other related developments.

We have also been active on Twitter and Facebook - you can also find the links to all these sites on the Election page.

Canadian Home Sales Pick Up in September

The Canadian Real Estate Association released the September MLS® System Stats and most markets across the country remain positive. Here is the media release.