Buying takes about 12 years to catch up with renting in our October 2026 comparison of buy vs rent in Regina. Owning a typical home costs about $440 a month more than renting a two-bedroom, before any principal is repaid. It’s a close call, and the sections below cover the numbers, the Saskatchewan rules behind them, and what they mean for renters, buyers, and landlords.
Is it cheaper to rent or buy in Regina right now?
If you’re deciding whether to rent or buy in Regina, renting costs less over the first five years and at the 10-year mark. The gap is small, though, and buying pulls ahead in year 12. We’re comparing a typical Regina two-bedroom with a typical Regina home in October 2026, assuming a 20% down payment and the 5.14% five-year fixed rate RBC listed on October 19, 2026.
Our starting point is the Saskatchewan REALTORS Association’s (SRA) September 2026 residential price for the City of Regina, $343,900. The SRA gives one price for the whole city and doesn’t say which home types it covers, so it isn’t a detached-house price. Against it we put Statistics Canada’s average asking rent for a Regina two-bedroom in the second quarter of 2026, $1,480 a month. Owning costs about $1,920 a month before principal and $2,376 a month once principal is included, compared with $1,480 for renting. Closing day takes about $75,314 in cash.
The one number that matters
In the first month, the gap before principal is about $440, at October 2026 prices and rates. It’s the extra a Regina owner pays for interest, property tax, insurance, and maintenance, compared with what the same household would pay in rent. General information, not financial or legal advice.
What does it cost to buy in Regina?
If you buy in Regina at the September 2026 price of $343,900, you’d need about $75,314 in cash on closing day, using SRA data and October 2026 mortgage rates. Borrowing the remaining $275,120 at the 5.14% five-year fixed rate RBC listed on October 19, 2026 means a payment of about $1,622 a month, before property tax, insurance, or maintenance.
The Saskatchewan REALTORS Association’s September 2026 market release (October 9, 2026) put Regina’s September 2026 price at $343,900, down from $348,900 in August and three percent higher than September 2025. Regina recorded 327 residential sales in September, down 13 percent from a year earlier but nearly 15 percent above the 10-year average for the month. The city headed into October with 2.54 months of supply, up from 1.72 in early September.
| Cost to buy | Amount | Basis and date |
| Home price (residential price) | $343,900 | SRA, City of Regina, September 2026 |
| Down payment (20%) | $68,780 | Modelling assumption |
| Mortgage | $275,120 | Price less down payment |
| Mortgage payment (principal and interest) | $1,622 a month | 5.14%, 25-year amortization, RBC, October 19, 2026 |
| Property tax | $4,406 a year | City of Regina 2026 residential mill rates and the 80% provincial percentage, applied to price |
| Saskatchewan title transfer fee | $1,376 | 0.4% of price, ISC land titles fee schedule effective April 15, 2026 |
| Closing allowance (1.5%) | $5,158 | Modelling allowance |
| Upfront cash needed | $75,314 | Down payment plus closing allowance plus title transfer fee |
Which price do we use for Regina?
The SRA’s September 2026 release gives one residential price for Regina, $343,900, covering the whole city. It doesn’t say which home types the price includes or give a separate detached-house price, so it isn’t the price of any particular house, condo, or townhouse in Regina. It’s a city-wide guide, not a quote.
The starting price matters. Re-run the calculator at a price 10% higher ($378,290), with the property tax and title transfer fee rescaled to match, and the first-month gap before principal widens from $440 to $622. Break-even moves from year 12 to year 15, at October 2026 figures.
How is Regina property tax calculated here?
The City of Regina works out property tax by multiplying a property’s taxable assessment (its assessed value times the provincial percentage) by the municipal, library, and school mill rates. A mill rate factor applies to the municipal and library portions. The City’s 2026 residential mill rates are 12.25600 for the municipality, 1.08613 for the library, and 4.27000 for schools, with a mill rate factor of 0.88032. The Government of Saskatchewan sets the residential percentage of value at 80% for the 2025 to 2028 property tax years. Together, those come to about 1.28% of assessed value, or about $4,406 a year ($367 a month) on a $343,900 home for 2026.
The City’s budget says it approved a 10.9% mill rate increase for 2026 on December 19, 2025. Our calculator applies the rate to the September 2026 price, but the Government of Saskatchewan says assessments for the 2025 revaluation use a base date of January 1, 2023. A home that would sell for more today than on that date is taxed on the older value, so your own bill may be lower than our $4,406. Every $1,000 a year of tax removed lowers the monthly gap by about $83 and moves break-even from year 12 to year 10, at October 2026 figures.
What does the Saskatchewan title transfer fee add?
Buyers pay a title transfer fee to the Information Services Corporation (ISC), which runs the Saskatchewan land registry. Under ISC’s land titles fee schedule (effective April 15, 2026), the fee is 0.4% of the value of the title on titles valued above $6,300. For a $343,900 home, that comes to $1,376 as of October 2026. The schedule also charges $275 to register a mortgage between $250,000 and $500,000, which the 1.5% closing allowance covers. Your lawyer will confirm the exact fees at closing.
What does it cost to rent in Regina?
The average asking rent for a Regina two-bedroom was $1,480 a month in the second quarter of 2026. The figure is for the census metropolitan area, according to Statistics Canada table 46-10-0092-01 (released September 9, 2026). That’s the rent we use. The first quarter of 2026 figure was $1,490. Statistics Canada’s June 9, 2026 chart showed Regina’s average two-bedroom asking rent up 5.7% from a year earlier in the first quarter of 2026. That was the third-largest increase among the census metropolitan areas it listed.
The same table reports an average paid rent of $1,580 for Regina two-bedroom apartments in the second quarter of 2026, which Statistics Canada marks as an estimate to use with caution. Paid rent is higher than the asking rent, although the two measures cover different units and shouldn’t be compared directly. If you use $1,580 a month, the first-month gap before principal falls from $440 to $340 and break-even moves to year nine, at October 2026 figures. Statistics Canada flags both Regina figures as experimental.
Why is the 12-year break-even a close call?
If you’re a Regina renter who plans to buy, year 12 is a range, not a date. A paid rent of $1,580 instead of $1,480 pulls break-even to year nine. A home price 10% higher pushes it to year 15, and one 10% lower ($309,510) brings it to year eight, at October 2026 figures.
How do the monthly costs compare?
If you line the costs up for the first month, renting a Regina two-bedroom costs about $1,480, while owning costs about $1,920 before principal and about $2,376 once principal is included. Add principal and the gap grows from about $440 to $896 a month, at October 2026 prices and rates.
| Monthly cost, month one | Amount | Gap versus renting |
| Renting a two-bedroom | $1,480 | Not applicable |
| Owning: running cost (interest, tax, insurance, maintenance) | $1,920 | $440 more |
| Owning: all-in payment including principal | $2,376 | $896 more |
In the running cost, property tax is about $367 a month, insurance is $100, maintenance is about $287, and mortgage interest makes up the rest. The $456 difference between the two owner lines in month one is principal repaid. That isn’t a cost, since it builds equity, but it still leaves your account every month. Every figure here uses the October 2026 rates, the September 2026 SRA price, and the 2026 City of Regina tax rate.
When does buying catch up in Regina?
In our calculator, buying a typical Regina home catches up with renting in year 12. If you stay five years, owning has a net cost of $115,032 against $92,424 in rent. Over 10 years it’s $200,627 against $194,467 at October 2026 prices and rates.
| Horizon | Net cost of owning | Cumulative rent |
| Five years | $115,032 | $92,424 |
| 10 years | $200,627 | $194,467 |
| Break-even | Year 12 | |
Net cost of owning adds up mortgage interest, property tax, insurance, maintenance, closing costs, the title transfer fee, and selling costs. It also counts the return the upfront cash could have earned elsewhere, then credits back the price gain on the $343,900 home. At October 2026 figures, owning is ahead by about $28,800 at year 15 and about $86,100 at year 20. That’s because, in our calculator, Regina rent and home prices both rise 2.0% a year while the mortgage balance falls.
What would change the result?
Regina’s break-even would come sooner with a mortgage rate below 5.14%, a lower property tax bill, or home prices or rents rising faster than 2.0% a year. A home priced above the September 2026 figure of $343,900 would lengthen the break-even, and a cheaper one would shorten it. Falling prices, or a sale within about 10 years, would push break-even later.
What do renters and buyers need to know in Saskatchewan?
If you rent in Saskatchewan, The Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 governs rent increases, and its rent-increase rules (sections 52 to 54) set notice and timing, not a maximum percentage. The Government of Saskatchewan says a landlord who is not in a prescribed landlord association must give 12 months’ notice of an increase in a periodic tenancy. Members in good standing of the Network of Non-Profit Housing Providers of Saskatchewan or the Saskatchewan Landlord Association may give six months’ notice.
How often can rent go up?
The Government of Saskatchewan also says that if your landlord is outside the associations, an increase may not begin within the first 18 months of a tenancy. Rent can rise only once every 12 months. For association members, the protected period is the first 12 months, and rent can rise once every six months. In a fixed-term tenancy, rent can rise by a percentage or dollar amount set out in the written tenancy agreement or on the Term Lease form. That form must be served at least two months before the tenancy ends. The tenant has 30 days to accept the new terms or leave. If you’re unsure which rules apply to your tenancy, contact the Office of Residential Tenancies. The Rental Laws section on liv.rent covers the wider rules.
What should buyers know?
If you’re buying in Regina, the ISC title transfer fee is about $1,376 on a $343,900 home at closing (October 2026). On top of that come the mortgage registration and legal costs, which fall inside the 1.5% closing allowance ($5,158) in our calculator. Property tax follows the assessed value, not the sale price, and that value uses a January 1, 2023 base date for the 2025 to 2028 tax years. If you’re still renting for now, the Rental Resources section has more guidance.
Who is better off renting, and who is better off buying in Regina?
Renting suits you if you expect to move within about 12 years, want to keep your cash invested, or value flexibility over owning a particular house. Buying suits you if you expect to stay beyond year 12, have the roughly $75,314 in upfront cash, and value control over your home, at October 2026 figures. General information, not financial advice.
If you rent
If you rent, you have a modest cost advantage in the first years, about $440 a month before principal in October 2026. In Saskatchewan, a landlord outside the associations must give 12 months’ notice and an association member six months, so you can plan a move or a purchase well in advance. But the Act doesn’t limit how large an increase can be.
If you are a landlord
If you’re a landlord, these numbers show where Regina rents sit against the cost of owning. Owning costs about $440 a month more than renting before principal (October 2026), and the average asking rent is $1,480 (Statistics Canada, second quarter of 2026). Notice and timing rules, not a percentage limit, set the pace of increases: once every 12 months for most landlords, or every six months for association members. See the landlord resources on liv.rent for pricing and tenant screening.
If you are deciding between Regina and another Saskatchewan city
Regina goes through the same method as every city we compare, so you can line them up side by side. The same assumptions, with Saskatoon’s own price, tax, and rent, are in our buy vs rent comparison for Saskatoon.
How we calculated this
Every city in this comparison goes through the same calculator with the same assumptions. So the only things that change from place to place are four local numbers: the home price, the yearly property tax, the monthly rent, and the transfer tax. These are assumptions for comparison, not a quote or advice. We haven’t modelled mortgage qualification (the stress test), and we’ve left out condo fees.
| Assumption | Value | Basis |
| Mortgage rate | 5.14% fixed, five-year term, compounded semi-annually | RBC special rate for five-year fixed closed mortgages (25-year amortization or less), rbcroyalbank.com, recorded October 19, 2026. Context only: Bank of Canada policy rate 2.25% (held September 2, 2026; next announcement October 28, 2026); lowest broker insured five-year fixed about 4.34% (Ratehub, October 9, 2026). |
| Down payment | 20% of price, no mortgage default insurance | Modelling assumption |
| Amortization | 25 years | Modelling assumption |
| Closing costs | 1.5% of price, plus the province’s land transfer tax or registration fee (local input) | Modelling allowance (legal, inspection, title insurance, adjustments) |
| Home insurance | $1,200 a year | Modelling allowance, not a quote |
| Maintenance | 1% of price a year | Modelling allowance |
| Home price growth | 2.0% a year | Neutral assumption equal to the Bank of Canada’s 2% inflation target |
| Rent growth | 2.0% a year | Same neutral assumption (provincial caps differ; real rents may rise faster or slower) |
| Property tax, insurance and maintenance growth | 2.0% a year | Same neutral assumption |
| Return on upfront cash | 3.0% a year | Modelling assumption |
| Selling costs | 5% of sale price at the end of the horizon | Modelling allowance |
| Headline horizon | Five years (10-year total also shown; break-even searched to 25 years) | Modelling choice |
| Source month | October 2026 | Rates recorded October 19, 2026; home prices September 2026 or latest board month |
The Regina figures we used are below, so you can check them against the sources. The home price is the residential price of $343,900 (SRA, City of Regina, September 2026, not split by home type). Property tax is $4,406 a year (City of Regina 2026 residential mill rates, municipal and library portions with the 0.88032 mill rate factor, school portion, on 80% of the price). Rent is $1,480 a month (Statistics Canada average asking rent for a two-bedroom apartment, Regina census metropolitan area, second quarter of 2026). The Saskatchewan title transfer fee is $1,376 (0.4% of price, ISC land titles fee schedule effective April 15, 2026). We recorded the rates on October 19, 2026, from the RBC mortgage rates page and the Bank of Canada.
Is it cheaper to rent or buy in Regina, Saskatchewan right now?
In our October 2026 comparison, renting is cheaper in Regina until about year 12. A typical two-bedroom asks about $1,480 a month, against $1,920 a month to own a typical home before principal and $2,376 including it, at September 2026 prices and RBC’s 5.14% rate. Buying comes out ahead after that.
How much cash do I need to buy a house in Regina?
Buying at the Saskatchewan REALTORS Association’s September 2026 city-wide residential price of $343,900, which doesn’t say which home types it covers, takes about $75,314 in cash in October 2026. That’s a 20% down payment of $68,780, a 1.5% closing allowance of $5,158, and a $1,376 Saskatchewan title transfer fee (0.4% of price).
How much does a two-bedroom apartment cost to rent in Regina?
Statistics Canada puts the average asking rent for a two-bedroom in the Regina census metropolitan area at $1,480 a month for the second quarter of 2026, down from $1,490 in the first quarter, when it was up 5.7% on a year earlier. Its separate paid-rent estimate is higher, at $1,580. The agency labels both figures experimental.
When does buying become cheaper than renting in Regina?
Buying catches up with renting in year 12 in our October 2026 comparison. Owning’s net cost is $115,032 after five years against $92,424 in rent, and $200,627 after 10 years against $194,467. A lower mortgage rate or property tax bill, or faster price and rent growth, would bring break-even sooner.
How much notice must a landlord give to raise rent in Saskatchewan?
If your landlord isn’t in a prescribed landlord association, they must give 12 months’ notice of an increase on a periodic tenancy, says the Government of Saskatchewan. Members may give six months’ notice. No increase may begin in the first 18 months of a tenancy (12 months for members). The Act sets notice and timing, not a maximum percentage.
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