Funny, just after posting on this thread and I heard that a guy I know is moving to Regina and living in a suburb or bedroom. There must be some there no doubt.
As for housing affordability, it can`t be that great of a deal in Regina and Saskatoon given that average prices are close to Edmonton, yet incomes far behind. Does anyone know what`s happened to prices in the bigger towns Yorkton, Kindersley, Weyburn, Moose Jaw etc.? Has the appreciation been as drastic as the larger centers?
When you say Sask RE is trading at less times-earnings than AB do you mean the price of a given piece of RE is lower in relation to it`s rental earning?
QUOTE (Jack @ Nov 11 2008, 09:56 AM) For net-migration, they were third in Canada in 2007, behind only B.C. (15,520) and Alberta (9,921), gaining 7,639 new residents during the calendar year. As at 2Q08, they`re also in third, behind only Alberta (6,730) and B.C. (1,669) again, with 1,107 new residents. So I`d say they`re doing well in that category.
Their rate of unemployment sits at 4.1%, behind only Alberta`s at 3.8%. Same goes for participation rate, second only to AB`s.
Finally, on wages, SK has experienced the biggest YOY percentage growth in Canada. Their average weekly earnings are relatively low, given their low unemployment rate and tight labour market, so I`d actually expect those to continue to rise at a greater pace than the rest of the country`s, right on par with Alberta.
As for it being "too expensive" to live there, how can any resident of Alberta or B.C. say that?!? Their real estate is trading at a lot less times-earnings and the CPI in AB is higher than anywhere else in Canada; meaning that it costs more for your food, for your shelter, for your utilities, for your entertainment...etc., etc., etc.
On Regina`s bedroom communities, I`d check out Regina Beach. A good friend of mine used to rent out my basement, and he was always talking about moving back there (Regina is his hometown) and buying a place in Regina Beach, where he said it was cheaper, it was a really nice lake community, and it was only about 15 minutes north of Regina. I haven`t looked into this at all, just going by what he said. But you`ve gotta think that there are some bedroom-esque communities in each city, and if they`ve not experienced the same or a similar upward spike in values over this past year, there could be a great buying opportunity.
