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. 

September MLS® System Stats are out!

The September MLS® System stats for Saskatoon and Regina were released this week and the market continues to show strength in both cities.

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

As always, your comments are welcome.

The Association of Saskatchewan REALTORS® (ASR) has taken a step toward environmental responsibility by installing a 10 kW photovoltaic grid tied solar panel system on their office building at 2811 Estey Drive in Saskatoon.  The system, installed by Solar Outpost of Saskatoon, is expected to produce approximately 15,000 kWh of electricity per year which is equal to around $1,800 worth of power at current Saskatoon Light and Power rates. Saskatoon is one of the sunniest cities in the country and will produce more power here than a similar system installed in Vancouver, Toronto, or Los Angeles.

The ASR installed the system under the Province of Saskatchewan’s “Net Metering Program” which provides a grant of up to 35% of eligible costs. Bill Madder, Executive Vice President of the ASR said “We made the decision to install this system based on economics and to show leadership in environmental responsibility. Existing office buildings are among the largest users/wasters of energy and we decided to take steps to offset that. In addition to the installation of the solar panels, we added additional insulation to the roof of the building and also had an energy audit on our building done by the Saskatchewan Environmental Society. We have implemented a number of their recommendations and will be looking at additional ways to reduce our energy use in the future.”

Here are a couple of photos of the building and the system:

For more photos of the construction process, check out our Facebook page: ASR Facebook Page - Construction Photos

ePro Course coming to Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan's REALTORS® will have a great opportunity to improve their social media and technology skills when the highly touted ePro® course comes to our province next month. The new e-PRO® gives agents a roadmap to build their business and serve the hyper-connected consumers of today and tomorrow. The course will be presented by REBAC Hall of Fame instructor Doug Devitre and will be offered in Saskatoon on November 29th and in Regina on November 30th. The registration fee for this course is just $155 and seating is limited.

For more details and registration information go to: ePro Saskatchewan - November, 2011