SASKATOON — The provincial government has provided an update on housing numbers, pointing to what it calls significant growth in the sector.
The numbers were released at a media event with Deputy Premier and Finance Minister Jim Reiter in Saskatoon Thursday. According to the numbers released, there were 6,150 new housing starts in Saskatchewan in 2025, the highest level since 2014. It was noted that Saskatchewan's housing starts were up 42 per cent from 2024, which was the highest growth rate among the provinces.
The government also pointed to data from January to June 2026 that showed 3,083 new housing starts, which it said put Saskatchewan on track to match last year's performance.
The province also pointed to the construction of new rental units — with rental units being a particular point of contention at the legislature, with the Opposition pointing to high prices and calling for rent control.
In response, the government pointed to the need to bring more rental units into the market, and the numbers released Thursday seemed to back up its argument. The numbers point to 6,371 new rental units completed between 2023 and 2025, bringing Saskatchewan's total rental stock to 44,802 units in 2025, which the province says is the highest on record.
The government also says more than 1,500 units have been brought to market in the province since the Saskatchewan Secondary Suite Incentive Grant Program was introduced.
The government states that an increase in supply has helped ease market pressures following record provincial population growth between 2022 and 2024. It pointed to posted rents for a two-bedroom unit in the Regina and Saskatoon census metropolitan areas remaining among the lowest in western Canada. The listed rents are $1,490 in Regina and $1,630 in Saskatoon, compared with $1,900 in Calgary, $2,660 in Toronto and $3,100 in Vancouver.
The government also pointed to the Multiple Listing Service benchmark home price in Saskatchewan of $383,500, compared with a national benchmark price of $661,800.
Reiter said that “while there are always challenges, Saskatchewan is doing very well in these difficult times across the country,” pointing to housing and rental unit starts being up.
He added that affordability was “top of mind” when the government developed the budget delivered in March. “That's why we're so focused on providing affordability relief through personal income tax changes, for example.”
Reiter also pointed to the increased supply as having an impact on rents. He acknowledged that demand and limited supply in 2023 and 2024 had resulted in two-bedroom rental vacancy rates falling to around two per cent, which he said resulted in average rent growth of 8.4 per cent in 2023 and 7.6 per cent in 2024. Since then, “growth in new supply has eased this pressure, with average two-bedroom rent growth slowing to 4.9 per cent in 2025,” said Reiter.
“We know that the best solution to rising housing costs and rental costs is increased supply, and that's exactly what we're seeing happen right now,” Reiter said.
Others at the event were encouraged by the housing numbers. Nicole Burgess, CEO of the Saskatoon & Region Home Builders' Association, pointed to Saskatoon recording 1,847 housing starts in the first six months of the year, which she said was the “strongest first half we have seen in well over three decades.”
“That is significant, and it reflects the confidence that our industry continues to have in this province.”
Burgess voiced support for policies that she said would recognize affordability and help offset costs, saying programs like the PST Rebate Program and Secondary Suite Incentive Program “help support new supply while putting affordability directly into the equation, and we need to keep applying the same lens to housing decisions at every level of government.”
Tyler Hudy, vice-president of public affairs with the Saskatchewan Realtors Association, also pointed to government policy as making a difference.
“Here in Saskatchewan, we have something that is becoming increasingly rare across Canada,” he said.
“We still have a realistic path to homeownership, and that doesn't happen by accident. It happens because governments, industry, and community partners continue to make decisions that help keep that pathway open.”
Landon Field, chief executive officer of Rental Housing Saskatchewan, thanked the government for continuing to “say yes to housing.”
“The most recent CMHC data released earlier this week proves that what we are currently doing here is working,” he said. “Saskatchewan ranks second among the provinces in new housing starts between July of last year and this year. Housing starts on single-family dwellings increased by almost 23 per cent while multiple units increased by almost 25 per cent. This is the highest level of housing starts we have seen in this province in more than a decade.”
In speaking to reporters, Reiter again emphasized the importance of affordability.
“You know, we're amongst the lowest rental rates in the country, and for housing starts, you can see, I mean, we're on pace. Last year was a phenomenal year. We're on pace to meet or even possibly exceed that this year, which means more units available for purchase or for rent and more affordability for people.”
Reiter pointed to the need to continue growing the province to keep up the momentum.
“You can see that, as I mentioned, the role of government is simply to sort of get the programs in place and get policies in place to make it attractive to private industry to do that, and the private industry folks are stepping up big time, and you can see that in the results.”
