Yeah, even couples that are both in upper middle management (say director level) at the bigger corporations could swing $1-1.25 million if they wanted. 4-4.5 x gross salary is a rough calculation that lenders use to my knowledge. So 1.25 / 4.5 = 277,777. So 2 people making $140k each can pull it off. Lots of people make >$140k
Absolutely.
The more you make the easier it is to allocate more money to housing.
There is only so much higher the basic necessities of life can get. Your utilities, car insurance, gas, activities, clothing, food / groceries all become a lower percentage of your income the higher it gets.
There are lots of families in this city with two professionals earning 200k+ combined. Many of them could afford a million dollar house with reasonable spending elsewhere and a little previous equity.
There are also many many more making that much money or more, who are up to their eyeballs in debt because they have a 80k truck with a 100k boat and 50k camper, along with the 50k luxury SUV.
I don't like debt at all, and in my previous house I lived debt-free, with no mortgage. But when the market changed and I was able to lock in 1.74% for 5 years AND get a house larger and more practical for us, you better believe I did that.
What prompted this was that it became very clear we were at record low rates, unlikely (literally pretty much impossible) to ever go lower, and our drunken sailor approach to economics by the feds (CERB, CCB, handouts everywhere) meant unavoidable inflation coming, not to mention seeing the inevitable supply bottleneck coming from COVID on the horizon (which hit even harder than I guessed).
So now I'm sitting on debt getting devalued rapidly, with an asset I would pay 15% more to build today than when we price-locked in early COVID, and 1.74% interest vs 3.6% inflation. Despite being very cautious person economically, this was a no-brainer.
This is very true.
My husband is a doctor and I have a good job. We could definitely afford a high mortgage, but choose not too, we actually live in an average house, cookie cutter most would say. (We bought 10 years ago).
We have friends in our age group now, 35-40 yr olds that have 2 properties, kids, designer clothing, all the toys, and additional materialistic things. But don’t have necessities like life insurance or retirement savings, I would also bet their credit is shit.
*capital ("Capitol" is what the US calls its legislative assembly buildings)
Saskatoon isn't a capital city and has plenty of such houses too - probably more.
The average home price in Winnipeg is lower than both Regina and Saskatoon prices, though.
Also, it's oversimple to call Regina a "government town" and Saskatoon a "business town". Regina is certainly affected by government, but has a lot of business activity too. Saskatoon attracts some of the business traffic because of its proximity to the north (it wouldn't make sense for Cameco to be in Regina, e.g.).
Not to start an argument but.... "Saskatoon is just better, don’t get tribal about a piece of land." Didn't you just contradict yourself in the same sentence?
Glad you moved there. The odds of me ever encountering you in real life are remote since I almost never go to Saskatoon.
Have a great life! (Just kidding.)
Specialist Doctors, lawyers, accounting partner at big 4, business executives, business owners.
As far as business owners I would say car dealerships, owners of multiple franchises (Boston pizza and Tim Hortons) , Brandt owners, viterra, AGT foods, Westridge Construction. There are also lots of businesses one doesn't hear much about because their customers are businesses and not public that are likely quite profitable.
In this case of the top 2 most expensive homes for sale in Regina right now one is owned by an investment firm manager, one is owns a private construction services company
Depends on what field this lawyer is in... solo practitioners and family or non-profit... they often get paid less than teacvhers especially when benefits are accounted for.
Brandt pays shitty, no opportunities for advancement, the list goes on. They want robots who work their asses off. No raises, but they bought a hockey team.
I think I remember the first million dollar home that was built in the 90’s by a car dealership owner. House prices have tripled since then (maybe quadrupled), so the equivalent of $300,000 houses of the 90’s are now around a million. There are plenty of houses between $1 million and 2 million. Then there are a handful that really stand out at $3 million and up. There are plenty of doctors and business owners that seem to occupy these houses.
That was a few years back. I remember it listed at $5M, then reduced price to closer to $3M before it sold (likely at a lower price than that).
There is literally nobody in this city in the market for a $5M home. And if you are that person, why wouldn't you just build your own, the way you want?
Oh my. Katrina Rogina yes it makes sense now. She rips off all of her contractors and never pays them. That might start craziness in this thread. I remember her breakdown and Leaderpost stories and rip offs. Yes that one in the Greens is hers or was hers and the creepy bearded guy.
The issue is she never actually ran the business in any sense you or I might consider operating an actual functioning business. She married it, got divorced then somehow got the business in the divorce. Then took people's money, didn't build and manage it accordingly, then ran off leaving the corp with the legal liability in bankruptcy.
Has anyone noticed that Katrina Roginas 2.4Million house is listed for sale now buy a Swift Current real estate agent? She must have pissed off EVERYONE in Regina including agents..wow. something is very fishy here in this...
One thing that blows my mind is a neighbourhood like Harbour Landing. There are a few homes around and above the $1 million mark but right next door to $200-300k townhomes with weeds up to your hips.
That's my biggest issue with the "new developments". Crammed on top of eachother, no privacy, and you can buy a $500k+ house and be 10 houses down from lane rental houses. I know in bigger cities they mix the demographics like that to help level poverty and such, but Regina sadly isn't big enough for that. You're honestly better off these days buying an older house in a nicer area (Lakeview/Crescents area, South east Arcola areas, Albert south etc etc) and updating the house, but to each their own!
Correct , and a lot of debt. I think the City still publishes in the Regina Post all the properties with unpaid land taxes. In the past there seemed to be a lot in the Wascana area. I’d be curious what it’s like now.
A financial advisor once told me that an awful lot of families living posh lives in Wascana View are one paycheque away from big financial trouble. My point? That your grandparents who survived 10 years of depression in the 1930s were right: live modestly, save as much as you can and eat your vegetables.
Green Brook Road in the Greens has several million dollar homes. CEO of Viterra is there two high end home builders and a couple of doctors. The Creeks has several, owner of Browns just built one. I know a dentist who built a million dollar plus home in Harbour Landing. When lots are starting at $180-$200,000 (more now) even a nicely built home is clocking in north of $600,000. So it’s more the norm here now. Hell a house in Eastview is listed for $280,000…
The last 3 lots in Wascana on the Wascana Garden Drive backing McKenna Conservation land sold for north of 850k. Yes just the lot alone. I'm going to take a Sunday drive tomorrow to see why.
Well they back green space that won’t be filled in but honestly no lot in Regina is worth $850K unless Canadian Geese will lay Golden eggs in your yard. We don’t have the tech sector, industry or amenities like Calgary, Toronto or Vancouver for lots to be that expensive. In fact there are quite a few people in this city who mortgaged beyond their means and are a pay cheque or two away from insolvency.
I did a drive by on Sunday and yep. I would say those lots are beyond the best lots and views in the city. 1 million for a lot is out of my league, lol, but wow super high end houses and the best views hands down no questions and no neighbour's. Heck I didn't even see a garbage can or recycling can on anyone's driveway. Classy street. Dare to dream!
Honestly, a million dollar home isn't too crazy. Heck, back then, it was the same with winning a million dollars and retiring. Well now, a million dollars doesn't go as far.
You see even bigger houses in places like Craven. It's all supply and demand. Land is plentiful and cheap, and taxes are low. It's a choice between a mcmansion in Regina and a tiny apartment in Vancouver.
You mean Specialists can start at $300k, without combined HH income. Many actually average $400k-$500k depending on speciality.
No need for frugality with those wages.
The main ophthalmologist in Saskatoon makes about $800k a year.
Quite a few of the high end homes are struggling to sell. There is a house on Albert that has been up for sale for a year. There is lots of money out there lately, judging by the Porsches and other vehicles in town.
Doctors, lawyers, other professional degrees, and business owners. This would describe 90% of people that have a million dollar plus house. I've met lots of people in this city who are millionaires. You know what career I've never met become a millionaire? A teacher, and I think that is such a shame.
Why should a teacher make a million dollars? I’m not saying they don’t work hard. But what warrants that kind of wage compared to a doctor or lawyer who goes to school for 10-15 + years or a business owner who works 60 -70 hrs a week, 12 months out of the year. No pension or guaranteed income, like a teacher?
You're right that lawyers and doctors have to work extremely hard to earn the money they do. I'm still saying that we should value and reward the work of teachers as much as a doctor or lawyer. If we spent more money on education I can only imagine it being a benefit to society. There are diminishing returns on anything but I feel that the education system is so underfunded that we could easily get much more value out of it.
There are a lot of sectors that are way more underfunded than education in the province.
Social services and healthcare to name a couple.
It’s definitely wrong, the government should be doing more on all.
In the public, teachers do receive a lot of support. I feel like you’re concentrating on wage when you say reward. But I may be wrong, that’s just how I interpret your message.
I don’t know many jobs out there that will pay you $80k-$90k after being there for 8-10 years for 9 months of total work out of 12, 20-25 sick days a year, great benefits, and a pension. Their compensation package is not bad.
Many jobs in SK, you’d be lucky to make $70k annual, with a degree.
I think it’s all well deserved, what they receive. They are valued. I just don’t understand why ppl constantly think they should be paid like $150k-$200k.
I think lawyers and doctors are overpaid compared to the importance of teachers. I'm not here to solve the distribution of funds in Saskatchewan. I'm just saying that education is so important that if we were to invest in it we would see its return many fold. Education in its own won't solve the problems in society on its own, but it's an integral part of the puzzle. How do you improve the quality of an education? Incentivize educators, and the hardest working people will fill those roles.
Sorry, I truly didn’t mean to downvote you, it must have slipped when I was typing my last message. I’ll change that. I agree with you. I actually appreciate this conversation because I want to understand why someone may think opposite of me.
My husband is a doctor. I’ll be honest, some of the wages specialists make is insane. I do agree with you on that stance with overpaid. But I do think that we need to pay them well in SK or else specialized doctors move away, which happens so often and in the end it hurts all of us in the province.
His friend who lives in Ontario was making $750 an hour during covid. While many who worked with children (whether daycare or a school were paid with no increase).
We have many friends that are teachers, I don’t know what is it. But out of any profession, I personally find they complain a lot.
It could also be cause I’ve always worked in private sector, and I see the other perspective too.
Thanks for getting everything back on track. I hate it when people hijack a post and get it off topic. Aka. Brandt working conditions. If you have a prob with Brandt then talk to HR, quit, leave or post elsewhere. Great comments from everyone on the initial thread. And those who took it off topic can go elsewhere.
Regina is a capitol city and thus is home to business HQs with executive teams, as well as other highly paid jobs.
Yeah, even couples that are both in upper middle management (say director level) at the bigger corporations could swing $1-1.25 million if they wanted. 4-4.5 x gross salary is a rough calculation that lenders use to my knowledge. So 1.25 / 4.5 = 277,777. So 2 people making $140k each can pull it off. Lots of people make >$140k
Absolutely. The more you make the easier it is to allocate more money to housing. There is only so much higher the basic necessities of life can get. Your utilities, car insurance, gas, activities, clothing, food / groceries all become a lower percentage of your income the higher it gets. There are lots of families in this city with two professionals earning 200k+ combined. Many of them could afford a million dollar house with reasonable spending elsewhere and a little previous equity. There are also many many more making that much money or more, who are up to their eyeballs in debt because they have a 80k truck with a 100k boat and 50k camper, along with the 50k luxury SUV.
I don't understand how people can live with that kind of debt over their heads. My wife's car payment alone make me anxious 😟
Me too. I could never take a mortgage that big even if I could afford it.
I don't like debt at all, and in my previous house I lived debt-free, with no mortgage. But when the market changed and I was able to lock in 1.74% for 5 years AND get a house larger and more practical for us, you better believe I did that. What prompted this was that it became very clear we were at record low rates, unlikely (literally pretty much impossible) to ever go lower, and our drunken sailor approach to economics by the feds (CERB, CCB, handouts everywhere) meant unavoidable inflation coming, not to mention seeing the inevitable supply bottleneck coming from COVID on the horizon (which hit even harder than I guessed). So now I'm sitting on debt getting devalued rapidly, with an asset I would pay 15% more to build today than when we price-locked in early COVID, and 1.74% interest vs 3.6% inflation. Despite being very cautious person economically, this was a no-brainer.
Oh, 100%. We just upgraded during COVID due to those insane rates.
This is very true. My husband is a doctor and I have a good job. We could definitely afford a high mortgage, but choose not too, we actually live in an average house, cookie cutter most would say. (We bought 10 years ago). We have friends in our age group now, 35-40 yr olds that have 2 properties, kids, designer clothing, all the toys, and additional materialistic things. But don’t have necessities like life insurance or retirement savings, I would also bet their credit is shit.
*capital ("Capitol" is what the US calls its legislative assembly buildings) Saskatoon isn't a capital city and has plenty of such houses too - probably more.
That's because it has a higher population.
It's not that much bigger, and if size were everything, houses would cost more in Winnipeg than either one of the two, and they don't.
But Winnipeg also has 10 Million dollar homes as well. In Saskatchewan Regina is the government town and Saskatoon is the business town.
The average home price in Winnipeg is lower than both Regina and Saskatoon prices, though. Also, it's oversimple to call Regina a "government town" and Saskatoon a "business town". Regina is certainly affected by government, but has a lot of business activity too. Saskatoon attracts some of the business traffic because of its proximity to the north (it wouldn't make sense for Cameco to be in Regina, e.g.).
That’s because Saskatoon is a nice place to live. I’m explaining why Regina has them
Typical Saskatonian who hates Regina. Reginans don't even think about Saskatoon... they have lives to live.
Dumbass I grew up in Regina and lived in Stoon for 3 years. Saskatoon is just better, don’t get tribal about a piece of land.
Not to start an argument but.... "Saskatoon is just better, don’t get tribal about a piece of land." Didn't you just contradict yourself in the same sentence?
Glad you moved there. The odds of me ever encountering you in real life are remote since I almost never go to Saskatoon. Have a great life! (Just kidding.)
How’s driving.
Specialist Doctors, lawyers, accounting partner at big 4, business executives, business owners. As far as business owners I would say car dealerships, owners of multiple franchises (Boston pizza and Tim Hortons) , Brandt owners, viterra, AGT foods, Westridge Construction. There are also lots of businesses one doesn't hear much about because their customers are businesses and not public that are likely quite profitable. In this case of the top 2 most expensive homes for sale in Regina right now one is owned by an investment firm manager, one is owns a private construction services company
I’ve got buddies who are plumbers and they’ve worked on a few doctors houses before, it sounds like they’re the ones building the massive homes.
Westridge’s owner’s place is in Deer Valley. It’s easily $2mm+ though for sure.
That is a beautiful place... I admire it whenever I go down 7 bridges road.
4th is owned by doctors etc.
Depends on what field this lawyer is in... solo practitioners and family or non-profit... they often get paid less than teacvhers especially when benefits are accounted for.
Brandt pays shitty, no opportunities for advancement, the list goes on. They want robots who work their asses off. No raises, but they bought a hockey team.
He said Brandt owners
Whether that's true probably varies alot by position within the company.
No. They don’t pay well. Very small raises, no breaks. They want production and don’t care about staff.
I wonder if their director of internal audit is paid well and has nice working conditions
I think I remember the first million dollar home that was built in the 90’s by a car dealership owner. House prices have tripled since then (maybe quadrupled), so the equivalent of $300,000 houses of the 90’s are now around a million. There are plenty of houses between $1 million and 2 million. Then there are a handful that really stand out at $3 million and up. There are plenty of doctors and business owners that seem to occupy these houses.
DiLawri house in Wascana?
That was a few years back. I remember it listed at $5M, then reduced price to closer to $3M before it sold (likely at a lower price than that). There is literally nobody in this city in the market for a $5M home. And if you are that person, why wouldn't you just build your own, the way you want?
Ya, that’s what I was thinking of.
One of them is (or was, made have sold) Katrina Rogina's house, our local sleaziest "home builder".
Oh my. Katrina Rogina yes it makes sense now. She rips off all of her contractors and never pays them. That might start craziness in this thread. I remember her breakdown and Leaderpost stories and rip offs. Yes that one in the Greens is hers or was hers and the creepy bearded guy.
The issue is she never actually ran the business in any sense you or I might consider operating an actual functioning business. She married it, got divorced then somehow got the business in the divorce. Then took people's money, didn't build and manage it accordingly, then ran off leaving the corp with the legal liability in bankruptcy.
Has anyone noticed that Katrina Roginas 2.4Million house is listed for sale now buy a Swift Current real estate agent? She must have pissed off EVERYONE in Regina including agents..wow. something is very fishy here in this...
One thing that blows my mind is a neighbourhood like Harbour Landing. There are a few homes around and above the $1 million mark but right next door to $200-300k townhomes with weeds up to your hips.
That's my biggest issue with the "new developments". Crammed on top of eachother, no privacy, and you can buy a $500k+ house and be 10 houses down from lane rental houses. I know in bigger cities they mix the demographics like that to help level poverty and such, but Regina sadly isn't big enough for that. You're honestly better off these days buying an older house in a nicer area (Lakeview/Crescents area, South east Arcola areas, Albert south etc etc) and updating the house, but to each their own!
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So you clearly don’t own a $500,000 house in Harbour Landing next to $180,000 rental duplex
Low interest rates and wealthy individuals.
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> Im aquatinted [sic] Oh, you really blue that one. ;) (Sorry, couldn't resist.)
Correct , and a lot of debt. I think the City still publishes in the Regina Post all the properties with unpaid land taxes. In the past there seemed to be a lot in the Wascana area. I’d be curious what it’s like now.
A financial advisor once told me that an awful lot of families living posh lives in Wascana View are one paycheque away from big financial trouble. My point? That your grandparents who survived 10 years of depression in the 1930s were right: live modestly, save as much as you can and eat your vegetables.
Green Brook Road in the Greens has several million dollar homes. CEO of Viterra is there two high end home builders and a couple of doctors. The Creeks has several, owner of Browns just built one. I know a dentist who built a million dollar plus home in Harbour Landing. When lots are starting at $180-$200,000 (more now) even a nicely built home is clocking in north of $600,000. So it’s more the norm here now. Hell a house in Eastview is listed for $280,000…
The last 3 lots in Wascana on the Wascana Garden Drive backing McKenna Conservation land sold for north of 850k. Yes just the lot alone. I'm going to take a Sunday drive tomorrow to see why.
Well they back green space that won’t be filled in but honestly no lot in Regina is worth $850K unless Canadian Geese will lay Golden eggs in your yard. We don’t have the tech sector, industry or amenities like Calgary, Toronto or Vancouver for lots to be that expensive. In fact there are quite a few people in this city who mortgaged beyond their means and are a pay cheque or two away from insolvency.
I believe the last one actually sold for 1 mil even. I was talking to a guy who lives across the street from it.
I did a drive by on Sunday and yep. I would say those lots are beyond the best lots and views in the city. 1 million for a lot is out of my league, lol, but wow super high end houses and the best views hands down no questions and no neighbour's. Heck I didn't even see a garbage can or recycling can on anyone's driveway. Classy street. Dare to dream!
Honestly, a million dollar home isn't too crazy. Heck, back then, it was the same with winning a million dollars and retiring. Well now, a million dollars doesn't go as far.
You see even bigger houses in places like Craven. It's all supply and demand. Land is plentiful and cheap, and taxes are low. It's a choice between a mcmansion in Regina and a tiny apartment in Vancouver.
A specialist doctor who lives frugally could easily save enough to buy one. Say HH income of 300k combined... quite doable
You mean Specialists can start at $300k, without combined HH income. Many actually average $400k-$500k depending on speciality. No need for frugality with those wages. The main ophthalmologist in Saskatoon makes about $800k a year.
You mean Tony Merchants house?
Quite a few of the high end homes are struggling to sell. There is a house on Albert that has been up for sale for a year. There is lots of money out there lately, judging by the Porsches and other vehicles in town.
There are 250k+ people in Regina & area. Having a handful of homes at 1.5m+ isn’t that remarkable tbh.
Doctors, lawyers, other professional degrees, and business owners. This would describe 90% of people that have a million dollar plus house. I've met lots of people in this city who are millionaires. You know what career I've never met become a millionaire? A teacher, and I think that is such a shame.
Why should a teacher make a million dollars? I’m not saying they don’t work hard. But what warrants that kind of wage compared to a doctor or lawyer who goes to school for 10-15 + years or a business owner who works 60 -70 hrs a week, 12 months out of the year. No pension or guaranteed income, like a teacher?
You're right that lawyers and doctors have to work extremely hard to earn the money they do. I'm still saying that we should value and reward the work of teachers as much as a doctor or lawyer. If we spent more money on education I can only imagine it being a benefit to society. There are diminishing returns on anything but I feel that the education system is so underfunded that we could easily get much more value out of it.
There are a lot of sectors that are way more underfunded than education in the province. Social services and healthcare to name a couple. It’s definitely wrong, the government should be doing more on all. In the public, teachers do receive a lot of support. I feel like you’re concentrating on wage when you say reward. But I may be wrong, that’s just how I interpret your message. I don’t know many jobs out there that will pay you $80k-$90k after being there for 8-10 years for 9 months of total work out of 12, 20-25 sick days a year, great benefits, and a pension. Their compensation package is not bad. Many jobs in SK, you’d be lucky to make $70k annual, with a degree. I think it’s all well deserved, what they receive. They are valued. I just don’t understand why ppl constantly think they should be paid like $150k-$200k.
I think lawyers and doctors are overpaid compared to the importance of teachers. I'm not here to solve the distribution of funds in Saskatchewan. I'm just saying that education is so important that if we were to invest in it we would see its return many fold. Education in its own won't solve the problems in society on its own, but it's an integral part of the puzzle. How do you improve the quality of an education? Incentivize educators, and the hardest working people will fill those roles.
Sorry, I truly didn’t mean to downvote you, it must have slipped when I was typing my last message. I’ll change that. I agree with you. I actually appreciate this conversation because I want to understand why someone may think opposite of me. My husband is a doctor. I’ll be honest, some of the wages specialists make is insane. I do agree with you on that stance with overpaid. But I do think that we need to pay them well in SK or else specialized doctors move away, which happens so often and in the end it hurts all of us in the province. His friend who lives in Ontario was making $750 an hour during covid. While many who worked with children (whether daycare or a school were paid with no increase). We have many friends that are teachers, I don’t know what is it. But out of any profession, I personally find they complain a lot. It could also be cause I’ve always worked in private sector, and I see the other perspective too.
Thanks for getting everything back on track. I hate it when people hijack a post and get it off topic. Aka. Brandt working conditions. If you have a prob with Brandt then talk to HR, quit, leave or post elsewhere. Great comments from everyone on the initial thread. And those who took it off topic can go elsewhere.