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ah, predictions

let's wait till they come true

as of now, lots of local lay offs in Saskatoon

commodity prices are way down

and we often haven't lived up to gdp growth predictions in the past

right now, lots of inventory out there, and growing again, as unsold houses are stuck back on the market and sellers >> buyers

a recent study had put Regina as the Best place to invest in Canada, followed by Toronto, then Saskatoon.  So #3, but #3 behind over 10% of Canada's population in Toronto.

Kind of ignoring all us poor saps who got laid off and have insanely big mortgages and no jobs now!  Potash Corp, Mosaic, Agrium, Cameco all the big mining players in the Saskatoon area area laying off workers.  Not even a job at the competition to transfer over to.  Saskatoon's mining industry is in crisis.  It may not have started yet, but that's a lot of high paying jobs that don't have the money to spend locally and are going to start looking to Alberta to apply their trade.

I heard Indianappolis was the best city to invest in North America wide, I think Saskatoon came in #20 or something, and that was before the lay offs.

laid off, and you can buy a house in Indy for less than half of what it is in Saskatoon!

Regina is okay to invest in, only hundreds of lay offs @ a time, versus thousands of Saskatoon lay offs.

The US just announced  a "buy American" plan that includes only American steel.  That sucks for Evraz in Regina.  AS an expert dependent economy, the "buy American" thing sucks for Saskatchewan as a whole and will decrease markets for our products and likely lead to even more lay offs.

With house prices "down" I thought that it may be the ideal time to return to Saskatoon.  Boy was I wrong.  Prices there are just insane.  When looking at the quality, size and location of the house, Edmonton is actually cheaper than Saskatoon still.  The prices in Saskatoon are outrageous, and despite claims of a strong job market, the jobs I found in Saskatoon are much more entry level than what is available in Edmonton, or likely Calgary.

Relocating to Saskatoon does not make financial sense, especially given that some actual good deals can be had in the Edmonton and Calgary markets now.  I think sellers in Saskatoon are still a bit in denial as the fundamentals of their market.  There are a lot of small entry level homes and suburban town houses available.  The large volume for sale, and relatively low weekly sales, make it look like Saskatoon house prices still have some ways down to go.

Might as well stay in my Edmonton home.  Granted it's price is still falling a bit, but I can't buy anything nearly this nice in Saskatoon in a similar calibre of neighbourhood for the same price.  And job wise, I just cant'd match my current income with anything available in Saskatoon for my level of training.

I would suggest it may be time for some Saskatchewan residents to re-evaluate why they live there and to give Edmonton a serious look.  It is a lot cheaper to live than you would think.  This will be even more evident if you've already been house shopping in the Saskatoon area first.

It's great to read that Saskatoon and Regina are going to have a good 2009, BUT what is happening in Prince Albert. Anyone got anything good to report about..real estate prices, jobs, industry?

Now new job numbers show that Saskatchewan's job "growth" is all Part Time jobs, with the loss of thousands of Full Time careers.

Yes, gaining Part Time jobs is better than Ontario ... but losing Full Time jobs shows Saskatchewan's economy is weakening from what it was last year - and will likely (again) trail Alberta in: median family income, median household income, GDP growth, debt, higher taxes etc.

And Staying In Alberta, there is actually a study which supports your view that Edmonton is actually more affordable than Saskatoon, with the higher wages and similar housing prices in Edmonton!