Business View Magazine l October 2022

23 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 9, ISSUE 10 SASKATOON & REGION HOME BUI LDERS ’ ASSOC I AT ION housing supply on its own. Partnerships and support are needed within all parts of the housing system to achieve 2030 goals. In Saskatchewan, the SRHBA, along with home builder members are in dialogue with the provincial government to maintain the PST (provincial sales tax) rebate program, which is set to expire in 2023, and will further add to eroding housing affordability in the province. Conrad Ehr, president of Ehrenburg Homes and chair of the SRHBA Board of Directors states, “We are working with the province to possibly extend or seek alternate tax reductions to offset rising interest rates and other affordability challenges.” If the PST rebate is no longer in place, “a lot of buyers will be priced out of the market, and potentially will not be able to purchase appropriate housing for their needs.” says Ehr. Even with the current programs in place, there must be a drastic transformation of the housing sector, including government policies and processes. It is clear that Saskatchewan’s approach to housing supply needs to be rethought and done differently. “To solve the issue of housing affordability, we need an ‘all-hands-on-deck’ approach to increasing the supply of housing to meet demand,” says Burgess, “All levels of government, federal, provincial and municipal, must come together with industry to help build the supply of affordable housing and to help this initiative succeed.”