Southwestern Saskatchewan, part of the dry Palliser Triangle, isn’t at the top of people’s minds when they think of lakefront recreational properties, but a booming regional economy is changing that.
Barry Poff has decided to service and sell 105 lakeside residential lots on what was once his farm on the shore of Reid Lake, the reservoir created by damming Swift Current Creek southwest of Swift Current.
“With people coming back this way, we made up our minds to take the initiative and sell,” said Poff of his Sunridge Developments on the lake, known locally as Duncairn Dam.
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He is confident the boom will gain momentum and feels more people are willing to invest in Saskatchewan properties, with the market prices jumping in recent years.
Poff has already sold 10 lots for around $39,000 each and regularly fields calls from people looking for retirement properties or homes.
Others plan to commute to jobs in Alberta, where land and property values are high and availability low.
He said many communities around Swift Current have seen lots and houses scooped up.
“You go to any small town around here, you can’t get a lot,” Poff said.
The News-Times in nearby Maple Creek, Sask., reported in March that houses were selling for as much as 50 percent more than at the same time last year. The town recently approved development of 32 new housing lots.
Canada Mortgage and Housing maintains official housing start statistics for larger centres.
In Swift Current there were 157 housing starts in 2007, up from 38 the year before.
The trend continued in the first quarter of 2008 with 23 housing starts compared to just four in the same period last year.
