I think that’s a good idea. The government should approach employers. Part an parcel of all this is that they want to retain youth and develop communities. This is something the businesses should be involved in – no matter how you slice it.

If I got paid more, enough to comfortably sustain a mortgage sensibly, then I can chalk this up to inflation and go “well, at least my pay went up.”

I agree that “tax deductions” are not the answer to this problem. Yes, they have them in the states but they’re not exactly a shining example to follow. They tax “gains” on a principal residence down there as well.

What about programs designed to foster income growth? I don’t mean to be flippant but as long as your net tax payable is “0″ you will not be buying a home no matter what the government does. There have got to be some actions the government could take which create opportunities to grow incomes.

Tax deductions won’t do squat. I’m going to be at 0 for taxes for the next ten years. I have so much “past 0 deductions” that I can’t use them.

It has to be a reduction in price or money our pocket. There’s no other way around it. The house is either cheaper or it’s not.

Just heard Pat Atkinson on the radio this morning talking about the governments plan to try and keep some of our young in the province who are otherwise being driven out by the high housing costs. Here’s hoping the plan is well thought out and not just a direct subsidy.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/news/story.html?id=964cef8c-401b-4fc9-93c7-ce6277f8e2d0

Makes me think, maybe the half dozen letters that I have written to my MLA and the NDP might have actually been read by someone.

Have a good weekend everyone.

It’s so refreshing to see a realtor who’s tells it like it is.

On the topic of people moving away, here’s what I’ve seen personally this year. 25 listings. 7 were secondary homes (inherited, bought for kids to reside in, etc), 3 were owned by people who built a new home, 5 were other local moves, 10 are relocations to another area. One went to Victoria, one to Cranbrook, one to China, one to Yellowknife, one to Brooks, one to Ottawa, one to Vancouver and three to Calgary. 2 of these were military, accustomed to moving as new postings are assigned. The other 8 were offered “opportunities” which struck them as more attractive than what was available here. While it’s clear to me that many are moving to Saskatoon there’s no doubt that people are still leaving. These clients are all great people, most very young, and represent a sad loss for Saskatoon.

Thanks for taking the time to check into the Remax units for me – ’tis much appreciated.

Matt, over the past month I’ve heard, from 3 different individuals, the exact same plan (literally) to move from sask to edmonton.

Quite a sad state. Old man Calvy’s plan backfired. Sadder yet is the fact that when the bubble creates a hole, the NDP gov’t will have egg on it’s face. No one’s better at pointing out fault than the conservatives… Yikes!!!

J.

J.

Thanks for reading, thanks for spreading the word and thanks very much for letting me know that it’s working for you. I appreciate it.

Sorry to hear of your frustrations. It’s an unfortunate reality that this market is not working well for the young people who have stuck it out in Saskatchewan. I hope you’ll find a way to stay. If not, all the best for your future.

Thanks again for the updates. Just curious if you have any more information on the 315 East Place condo development? I searched through Remax and Metro Developments pages and couldn’t find anything on either.

I have had kinda of mixed week. Disheartened by the Saskatoon housing market, I did something I never thought I would and talked to a couple of Edmonton based software firms concerning making the move out west. I have done some digging through the Edmonton area MLS listings, and although it seems that the condo prices are slightly higher than Saskatoon, the realtor I spoke with said that the market is not nearly as frenzied as what we are experiencing here. Factor this in with a significant salary boost, and it makes the move seem very attractive. Like I have said in previous posts, money has never really been a driving priority for me, but over the past year I have come to the sad conclusion that if I choose to stay in Saskatoon my dream of owning a home will come at the cost of either a reduced quality of life (living in either an undesireable neighbourhood or working insane overtime to afford a solid home in a safe neighbourhood). So at this point I have to take an objective long look at things and consider whether Saskatchewan is the best fit for me. I wish “tapping into the new economy” was as simple as Calvert makes it sound to be, but the cold fact is that our incomes here just don’t support the sort of housing costs we are now seeing. Put bluntly, I can’t help but feel as if the province is trying to drive myself and others in a similar predicament out of the province. As a guy who loves Saskatchewan, and chose Saskatoon in particular to esablish my two small businesses, I am deeply saddened by the way things have turned out.