Dramatically lower home prices than other markets are pushing hopeful homeowners from across the country to Saskatchewan
In a country grappling with an affordability crisis, a growing number of Canadians are setting their sights on an unlikely destination: Saskatoon.
Long overshadowed by bigger cities like Toronto, Vancouver, and even more recently, Calgary and Halifax, this prairie city is emerging as an unexpected hotspot for homebuyers — particularly those in search of mortgages that won’t break the bank.
“Since 2022, it's kind of exploded,” said Chris Kolinski (pictured top), a mortgage broker with ISask Mortgage Brokers in Saskatoon. “I'm seeing a lot more people moving from places like the larger centers like the GTA [Greater Toronto Area] and GVA [Greater Vancouver Area].”
Kolinski is not alone in noting the shift. While headlines have often highlighted Canada’s overheated housing markets in urban centres, data from the Saskatoon & Region Home Builders' Association suggests that the city is undergoing a quiet but meaningful demographic transformation. After seven years of net domestic out-migration, Saskatoon is now on the cusp of recording positive net domestic growth — a trend driven, in part, by housing affordability.
At $1.1 million, the average home in Toronto is out of reach for many buyers. In Saskatoon, by contrast, the average home costs just $422,600.
Migration driven by affordability – and remote work
“Being able to move anywhere in the country is great,” said Kolinski. “And see people from different walks of life and being able to meet a lot of different people from other provinces, I think that's awesome.”
Until recently, Kolinski said, almost all his clients were local. Out-of-province inquiries were rare, perhaps once a year. Now, 10% of his clients are from outside Saskatchewan, drawn by a mix of remote work flexibility and relative affordability.
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“I think it's just the prices and our employment's good here too,” he said. “They're definitely not moving here for the weather.”
Kolinski credits the rise of remote work — a pandemic-era shift that has lingered — with removing barriers for clients who might otherwise have been locked into high-cost cities due to employment.
“As long as they have that job letter, I'm not really getting any pushback from lenders anymore asking for confirmation if they can work remotely,” Kolinski said. “I don't really approach it any differently.”
Housing supply lags demand
Yet with growing demand comes growing strain.
Prices in Saskatoon have risen 7% over the past year — a modest increase by national standards, but one that raises concern about the city’s future affordability.
“My concern is that we're going to get to be somewhere like Calgary, and hopefully not like Toronto and Vancouver, where the house prices start to get a little more unattainable for a lot of people,” Kolinski said.
Supply constraints are already beginning to bite. While Saskatchewan’s overall population growth is accelerating — thanks to both international and domestic migration — the housing market is struggling to keep pace.
“More builders are trying to build them [houses] and they just can't build them fast enough,” said Kolinski. “I'm hoping that we can see some government intervention to help with making building those houses a little easier and cheaper.”
Nicole Burgess, CEO of the Saskatoon & Region Home Builders' Association, echoed those concerns.
“For the last couple years, we've been hearing of all these numbers and then we're like, ‘hey, well, where are they living?’” Burgess said.
The reasons for the lag are manifold — and not unique to Saskatchewan. High interest rates, surging material costs, and a chronic shortage of skilled labor have all hampered the pace of new construction.
At the same time, Saskatoon’s resale market has tightened dramatically. “This is coming at a time when our resale inventory is significantly low, like almost dangerously low levels according to the Realtors Association,” Burgess said.
Inspections are backing up, and tradespeople are in short supply, causing delays in new builds reaching the market. Still, Burgess remains optimistic.
“Where we're at from an economic standpoint in terms of all those forecasts, it's still showing Saskatoon's economy going to outperform,” she said.
A city at a crossroads
For now, Saskatoon’s rising profile offers both opportunity and challenge. Affordable homes and stable employment continue to lure Canadians priced out of larger cities. But without a significant response in supply — from both the private sector and policymakers — the very affordability that makes the city attractive may prove fleeting.
Kolinski remains cautiously hopeful.
“There’s a lot of good coming out of this,” he said. “But I think we’ve got to make sure we’re ready for what’s next.”
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