Election Results

Saskatchewan's REALTORS® would like to congratulate Premier Brad Wall and the Saskatchewan Party on forming their second consecutive majority government. We also congratulate the NDP members who were elected on November 7th. We look forward to working with all MLAs toward solutions to housing-related issues.
                 
For information on the issues identified by REALTORS® and the proposals we put forward during the campaign, check out the earlier posts on this blog or go to our 2011 Election page here .                 

Election Day is November 7th!

Saskatchewan's Provincial Election is tomorrow, November 7th. Be sure to get out and cast your ballot. Have questions about when and where you can vote? Everything you need to know is on the Elections Saskatchewan website here: Elections Saskatchewan

ASR Media Release - Nov 2, 2011

The following was released to SK media outlets today:

New Government Must Address Real Housing Issues

Changes that would make a real difference in affordability and availability of homes are being lost in the November 7 provincial election campaign.  

Bill Madder of the Association of Saskatchewan REALTORS® says incentives to draw dollars into apartment construction, and reforms to speed up land development are critical to the province’s growth and well-being, but are being lost in the argument over rent control.

Mr. Madder said these underlying issues will face the next government, and the choices they make should be debated in the campaign.

He said the major roadblocks in housing are shortage of investment in rental units, and shortage of land to build on.

“Demand for land has tripled recently but our planning and development laws haven’t been reviewed for years. Saskatchewan still uses a command-and-control model with heavy regulation and lengthy procedures that delay action and drive up cost. Many communities will not have buildable land for years because the planning process is outdated and effectively non-functioning.”

Political parties should update their policy arsenals by dropping rules-based approaches like rent control, and instead, to look at ideas such as a tax incentive that can multiply investment in rental housing supply.

“The command-and-control approach has made apartment rentals a marginal and difficult business. Adding more rules will not attract more dollars. We need an innovative approach that mixes incentives to catch up the supply, with fast-tracking approval processes to open more land to build on”, said Mr. Madder .

INFORMATION: Bill Madder, 306-220-9570