Brief History
Back in the 1940s Saskatchewan had a higher population than Alberta.
As the price of oil started to increase the Alberta government began to offer incentives for
investing in oil exploration. As a result, Alberta has become the richest province in Canada.
Especially in Calgary where most of the oil companies are headquartered. This economic boom
created a lot of wealth for Calgary resident, especially in real estate. Real estate prices
are second only to Vancouver.
In stark contrast to the Alberta governments approach
the Saskatchewan government at that time (NDP) did nothing to encourage development in this
sector. Therefore investors would invest in Alberta oil rather than Saskatchewan oil exploration.
As we moved into 2000, the NDP government started to lose its popularity. It is anticipated
that future elections and economic policies in this province will focus on encouraging further
investment and development into Saskatchewan’s oil resources. As the world’s energy demands
continue to escalate, it is inevitable that Saskatchewan’s economy will experience growth
similar to what we’ve seen in Alberta over the last several years.
Saskatchewan Advantage
The housing market in Saskatchewan is on fire. Housing prices rose to over 45% in the last twelve months as compared to 21.3% in Alberta 27% in BC and 5.9% in Ontario and Quebec. This growing economy is backed by the most abundant resources in the world:
- Saskatchewan has the richest oil reserves in Canada, especially oil sands.
- 30% of the world’s uranium is produced in Saskatchewan.
- Saskatchewan has the biggest potash mine in the world.
- Saskatchewan has one of the biggest diamond reserves in the world.
- Saskatchewan has advanced agricultural technology.
- With commodity prices already high, and anticipated to go even higher, Saskatchewan is poised for substantial economic growth.
Big name stores like Wal-Mart and Home Depot have opened new locations verifying their confidence in the future growth of the province. There are so many job openings that the Saskatchewan government is encouraging fast track immigration policies. With more people moving to Saskatchewan, further price escalations in local real estate prices are inevitable, especially in the Saskatoon area. Residential lots for houses have been scooped up by builders. Because of the “sudden?increase of work loads to the city planners, availability of new lots is limited. Only 10% of released lots are available for auctions for private home buyers. Thus lot prices have been increasing and high demands with limited supplies will be the scenario in the next few years.