Moosomin close to hitting housing goal after offering $30K incentive to builders
Jeremy Simes | The Canadian Press | Posted: January 12, 2025 11:00 AM | Last Updated: January 13
To meet expected growth, town offered cash to anyone who builds a home there
An official with a town in southeastern Saskatchewan says its plan to offer $30,000 cheques to anyone building homes in the community is paying off.
Moosomin, about 210 kilometres as the crow flies east of Regina, announced the cash initiative in August to attract development to the community, which is in desperate need of housing.
Town economic development officer Casey McCormac says the program has resulted in a flurry of construction, including two 12-unit apartment complexes and a six-unit building. Building permits have also been issued for two houses and a basement suite.
"I think it's really cool," McCormac said.
"It definitely shows that Moosomin was in need of this grant to help accelerate our housing needs, and it shows that people want to move to Moosomin and that there is a shortage of housing."
Moosomin received $1 million from the federal government's housing accelerator fund for its program. The town gives builders $30,000 for the first new unit, plus $8,000 per additional unit for multi-unit housing on the same property. Builders receive the money once occupancy permits are issued.
Construction has started on the homes, but no one has moved in yet.
McCormac said the federal funding program was flexible and the town wanted to try something different.
"We thought it was a good incentive and were hoping it would make headlines, which it obviously did," she said.
"We had to hit three units in order to continue our funding, and we have building permits for 33."
Only 10 spots left: mayor
Moosomin Mayor Murray Gray told CBC's The 306 that the town's goal for now is 43 homes — meaning there are only 10 spots left for people to lay claim to.
"I think in the next couple of months you'll find that we will be out of spots," said Gray.
His advice for other towns and cities struggling with building enough housing is to "think outside the box."
"I just think that the same old, same old is not going to attract developers, especially."
He also said while the incentive is off to a good start, further building will come with challenges — like finding enough people to construct the homes.
McCormac said the housing market has been tight in the town of 2,600. Homes are snapped up quickly and rental options are few.
Moosomin is a smaller hub in the region, with a hospital and other services, she added.
"I think more and more people are looking to live in smaller towns because of the cost of living or because of the job opportunities," McCormac said, adding Nutrien Ltd.'s Rocanville potash mine is nearby.
"Moosomin is 25 minutes [drive] away from the potash mine, which is a big employer. We do have a lot of different industries that are employing people."
McCormac said the town would utilize the program again should it become available in the future.
"We do need a lot more housing," she said.
"Council has actually spoken about potentially putting in some sort of incentive — not necessarily $30,000, but some sort of incentive for residential buildings, because we need more."
Gray said once the town uses up the money, it will regroup and try to keep the momentum going.
"We certainly don't want to shut the tap off at that point in time," he said.