Advocates push for more homes to be built in Saskatchewan. Globalnews.ca

Builders may be busy building new homes in Saskatoon, but the reality is that realtors say it’s not enough.

“We have an inventory crunch and our inventory has been decreasing month by month for the past three years,” said Chris Guerrett, CEO of the Saskatchewan Realtors Association.

Guerret said that with the paucity of new homes available, rising interest rates and inflation, building a home is close to impossible for some.

The solution, he said, is not as complex as people might think, but it lies in the hands of the province and the communities within it.

“Most of the impact and impact on housing happens at the municipal level and so what are we doing to both educate municipalities and help them accelerate that process?” Guerrett said.

Since 1990, Saskatchewan has built 96,000 homes in the province. But, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, 100,000 homes would need to be built in the province by 2030 to make housing widely affordable.

This is a target that is not realistic, said Colleen Mah, a broker with Northridge Realty Ltd.

“We’ve never done it before,” said Month. “At Altitude, we’re building 5,000 new units annually—which translates to 20 years, not eight years.”

For Guerette, this is where the Saskatchewan Housing Continuum Network hopes to help as the group takes a closer look at each city’s individual needs.

“And there isn’t just one solution, it’s going to be multifaceted,” Guerrett said. “It’s going to be policies that allow anyone, anywhere, to build any kind of house in any kind of capacity.”

Advocates said it is time for elected officials in each municipality to bring this forward on the decision-making table.