WinnipegREALTORS® Press Release, May 7, 2015

WINNIPEG - The real estate market is either very, very good … or really, really suspect … depending on which headlines you choose to read.

It’s difficult to decide what’s really happening from the sound bites, but the numbers on the resale market for the first 4 months of the year paint a fairly rosy picture. Statistics for the first third of the year are up from comparable numbers last year, and last year recorded the 4^th best resale numbers in the past 20 years and the best dollar volume ever through the Multiple Listing Service®.

“Our numbers continue to support our Forecast Breakfast predictions.” said WinnipegREALTORS® President David MacKenzie. “In January we predicted that sales would be up 0-2% year-over-year and home prices would increase by the same amount. And the January through April activity bears that out and then some."

The April MLS® listing inventory, the number of ...

WinnipegREALTORS® Press Release, April 8, 2015

WINNIPEG - More spring-like weather this March compared to the previous few years helped spur more sales activity. MLS® sales climbed over 1,000 and ended up being just 2% off the ten-year March average of 1,025. First quarter sales activity showed a similar pattern, also off 2% from the ten-year average of 2,318 MLS® sales.

MLS® dollar volume of $276 million was up 11% over March of last year and up 9% over the ten-year average.

New and available listings continue to be impressive when compared to last March.  New listings entered on the MLS® in March increased 33% while the active listings or existing inventory were up 29% to 4,338 MLS® listings. Whatever is being sold is more than being replenished by the entry of new listings on the system.

You have to go back to 1999 to find as many listings available for sale at this time of year and back to 1995 when there were more new listings entered on MLS® in March....

WinnipegREALTORS® Press Release, March 5, 2015

WINNIPEG – There will be an excess of white noise from all media outlets across the country about real estate market activity in the first two months of the year.  We will be bombarded by new highs and lows from Toronto and Calgary and Vancouver … but the real story should address what’s happening in Winnipeg. If we want to know the weather, we don’t listen to the Toronto radio and TV feeds – we listen to our local experts. The same should be true about our real estate market.

February MLS® listing inventory, the number of properties available for sale in Winnipeg, rose 24%. So buyers had more properties to choose from than last February, which should indicate more balance in the marketplace.

Listings entered into the MLS® system were also up 18% over last February, with the addition of 1,535 properties.

The number of sales processed in the month was just 8 shy of last February, with 672 sales...

WinnipegREALTORS® Press Release, February 5, 2015

WINNIPEG - MLS® activity in January was very solid with the third highest sales total on record for this month.  It also ushered in a new January monthly dollar volume high of over $150 million.  New listings coming on to the market remain robust with a 25% increase over 2014. This increase is even more significant considering the rise in new listings is at 40% when you compare it to a ten-year average. Not surprisingly, active listings or the inventory available for buyers to choose from is up 25% as well over 2014.

January MLS® unit sales were up 4% (588/565) while dollar volume rose 4% ($151.6 million/$146.0 million) in comparison to the same month last year.

“At our annual forecast breakfast last month we said 2015 would be a more balanced market and January results bear this point out, “ said Dave MacKenzie, president of WinnipegREALTORS®.  “The healthy influx and overall supply of listings...

WinnipegREALTORS® Press Release, January 9, 2015

WINNIPEG – While the increase in MLS® listings has been grabbing headlines in 2014 MLS® sales have still fared well. MLS® sales in December were up 5% over December 2013 and 3% above the 10-year average for December sales activity. As for annual MLS® sales, it was a repeat performance. When it was all said and done sales in 2014 fell shy of 2013 by only 42 sales (well under 1%). This makes 2014 WinnipegREALTORS® 5th highest year for MLS® sales.

The widest margin in sales activity from the highest sales year in 2007 to 2014 is less than 2% so the top five years are all in a very narrow range.  2014 MLS® sales are also less than 2% ahead of the 10-year annual average of 12,631 sales.

A similar trend is not the case for MLS® listings. This was especially evident in 2014 when current listings entered on the MLS® system each month were consistently up over the previous year and in many months the...

WinnipegREALTORS® Press Release, December 4, 2014

WINNIPEG - When Santa descends on Winnipeg and surrounding rural municipalities and cities such as Steinbach this Christmas he will see plenty of real estate signs. For vendors they will be wishing for a sold affixed to their sign. Buyers with more choice to find that perfect home may wish for the same on a house they are successful in securing before year end.

2014 has been an extremely busy listing year with active MLS® listings at the end of November up 20% from 2013 and current MLS® listings or new ones coming on the market in November up 6% from last November.  Based on the average number of listings remaining for sale at the end of November over the last 10 years, there are approximately 1,500 more MLS® listings available for sale this December. This larger inventory has created buyers’ market conditions. It makes the word “comparable” take on increased meaning when there is this much more selection...

WinnipegREALTORS® Press Release, November 5, 2014

WINNIPEG – WinnipegREALTORS® experienced its fourth busiest October on record. It had over 1,100 MLS® sales which is 5% higher than the ten-year average for October and only 7% off the best October months in 2007 and 2013. Dollar volume decreased slightly more than sales did in October as significant inventory is putting pressure on holding prices down. However, the second highest dollar volume for October was still enough to push year-to-date dollar volume over $3 billion for the first time with still two months to go.

MLS® listings remain an important development in how the market is evolving this year. New listings entered on the MLS® in October were up 7% while the active listings or current inventory heading into November has risen 21% over last year. The three month streak of 5,000 MLS® listings going into the next month came to an end though with more than 4,600 MLS® listings available at present....

WinnipegREALTORS® Press Release, October 8, 2014

WINNIPEG - Buyers took advantage of the over 5,000 MLS® listings available at the beginning of September. As a result, sales were less than 3% off the best September recorded in 2011. The 2,364 new listings entered on MLS® during the month of September kept listings at a level not seen since 1997. 

Given such a competitive market with supply presently outstripping demand, there were price adjustments happening for a number of MLS® listings. MLS® dollar volume was still up 9%. It was the first time dollar volume in September went over $300 million. 

September MLS® unit sales increased 5% (1,182/1,123) while dollar volume rose 9% ($305.1 million/ $278.8 million) in comparison to the same month a year ago. Year-to-date MLS® sales are up less than 1% (10,278/10,234) while dollar volume has increased 4% ($2.75 billion/$2.64 billion) in comparison to the same period last year. MLS® listings entered on MLS...

WinnipegREALTORS® Press Release, September 10, 2014

WINNIPEG - 2014 is going down as the year of more listings. In August the healthy supply of MLS® listings did not translate into more sales. In fact, MLS® sales dropped 12% in comparison to the same month last year. The 10-year average for August sales activity still shows August 2014 down 5%. 

Listings is another story altogether. Based on the 10-year average for August active listings or current inventory at the end of August, August 2014 has 59% more listings at 5,108. As for new MLS® listings entered on MLS® in the month of August, the 2,106 new listings were up 22% over the 10-year average. While a disappointing result, year-to-date sales activity is in a virtual deadlock with last year. 2013 is the fourth best year on record for sales activity. Dollar volume on the other hand is on pace to set another annual record as is up nearly 4% from last year which turned in a third consecutive record-breaking dollar...

WinnipegREALTORS® Press Release, August 8, 2014

WINNIPEG - Not only were the ice cream vendors hopping in July. REALTORS® were kept busy too with the most active July in WinnipegREALTORS® 111-year history. Close to 1,500 MLS® sales were transacted with a record-breaking July dollar volume of nearly $390 million. MLS® listings kept coming on the market too with more than 2,300 new ones to whet the appetite of eager buyers. It resulted in building a healthy inventory of over 5,000 MLS® listings by month end. 

July 2014 compares favourably to a good month in June and was only 2% off June 2014 when it enjoyed the third highest sales for this month. This gives credence to comments made at the end of the second quarter that Winnipeg is in a delayed spring market due to a prolonged winter.
To show just how record-breaking this July was in terms of sales, July 2014 is only the second time MLS® sales reached over 1,400 sales for this summer month. It outperformed the...

WinnipegREALTORS® Press Release, July 8, 2014

WINNIPEG - June 2014 MLS® sales rank third highest on record for this month and have only been eclipsed by 3% in June 2007 and June 2008. As a result, year-to-date sales for the first half of 2014 show a slight edge over 2013 at close to 6,500 sales – only 1% off the 10-year average. Just shy of $416 million, June MLS® dollar volume resulted in the second highest MLS® monthly total ever. Only last month is higher when $438 million worth of listings was sold on MLS®. 

New listings entered in June on MLS® continue to march along on an upward trend in 2014 with a 22% increase over June 2013. It leaves year-to-date listings placed on MLS® up 13% to 12,052 listings. There are 1,000 more MLS® listings available going into July than was the case last year at this time. 

For the first six months, condominium listings have increased 33% over 2013. A number of new projects are helping add to the jump in listings...

WinnipegREALTORS® Press Release, June 10, 2014

WINNIPEG - An all-time record setting month for MLS® dollar volume and the third highest month for MLS® sales brings year-to-date sales even with last year and dollar volume ahead by 4%.

May is really a make or break one for the year and if this is a marathon we are right up with the lead runners when it comes to staying with 2013. Where we are ahead of 2013, however, is in listings. The over 4,500 active listings by month end are up 22% from last year. New listings entered on the MLS® in May rose 10% over May 2013. It was not until 2006 that new listings in May consistently eclipsed 2,000 and we have now reached 2,755 in May 2014.

Helping set a new monthly dollar volume record was seeing for the first time the average monthly residential-detached sales price reach and climb over the $300,000 level to $300,786. The year-to-date average residential-detached price is lower at $294,232. May 2014 had three homes sell for over $1...

WinnipegREALTORS® Press Release, May 7, 2014

WINNIPEG - In what has been anything but a normal year for getting everyone into normal spring market expectations and buying activity to match them, April sales actually held their own. They fell just shy of last year’s total number and are exactly at the 10-year average performance level for this month.

Owing to affordability issues that have been well identified with first time buyers, which in turn has a broader impact on other aspects of the housing market, single family homes continue to underachieve compared to more affordable property types such as condominiums and single- attached properties. Given single family homes or residential-detached units make up the majority of sales in the Winnipeg MLS® market region, converting less than 50 per cent of your inventory is going to make it difficult to see a stronger overall April MLS® sales result.

Year-to-date results mirror April in that sales are in lockstep with last year...

WinnipegREALTORS® Press Release, April 9, 2014

Winnipeg - 2014 is showing continued improvement in MLS® listings and overall inventory. Both new listings in March and active listings or overall inventory at the end of the month were well up over last year. Buyers have far more to choose from when you look at all residential property types. Going into April last year there were over 2,000 residential listings whereas now there are in excess of 2,500. Condominiums show the largest increase with 562 available for sale this year compared to 346 in 2013. The only residential property types down from last year are duplexes and resort properties.

MLS® sales for March rebounded from a poor March 2013 with year-to-date sales slightly ahead of last year for the first three months. If you compare them to the 10-year average sales performance they are off 3 and 7% respectively. However we must keep in mind Winnipeg endured it coldest winter since 1898.

March MLS® unit sales were up 9%...

WinnipegREALTORS® Press Release, March 5, 2014

WINNIPEG - Whether it be Olympic fever or just plain deep freeze weather that kept buyers at home, the February MLS® results show strong listing activity but less motivation by buyers to get out and take advantage of the good supply and selection of listings. Sales were affected in one way or another and are down 8% from the 10-year average of 743 sales. Property types most negatively impacted this month were vacant lots and duplexes as residential-detached and condominiums, in particular, saw increases over last February.

As a result of more listings coming on the market with less of them being converted to sales than last year at this time, Winnipeg’s MLS® market has moved into balanced conditions. Buyers are now in a more favourable position to get what they want and have more time to do it. The number of residential-detached listings selling for above list price in February was just over 30 per cent, down five percentage...

WinnipegREALTORS® Press Release, February 5, 2014

WINNIPEG - Weather deterred more buyers than sellers when it came to single family home sales this January as they were down 10 % from January 2013. However the 565 MLS® sales transacted are better than the 10-year average of 550 and are right at home with most recent January performances other than 2013 when there were more than 600 sales.

MLS® new listings continue to show strength in 2014 with a 7% increase over 2013 and a higher percentage increase relative to previous years for January. Condominium sales activity was not affected by some harsh winter weather in January as saw an impressive 36% jump from January 2013. They clearly helped offset the sales decreases in other MLS® property types.

January MLS® unit sales were down 8% (565/614) while dollar volume decreased less than 1% ($146.0 million/$146.9 million) in comparison to the same month last year.

“Given some rather harsh weather and road conditions at...

WinnipegREALTORS® Press Release, January 9, 2014

WINNIPEG - While 2013 will go down in WinnipegREALTORS® MLS® sales history as the fourth best year on record at 12,926 sales, it is still disappointing to see sales miss the 13,000 benchmark level set in 2007 and then again in 2011 and 2012.

A third consecutive year of 13,000 MLS® sales was attainable however March proved to be the year’s Achilles heel. What was so demonstrably clear is how much more the first-time homebuyer market struggled that month in comparison to the move-up market. With a more robust first-time homebuyer market in March, 74 sales could easily have been achieved to reach once again the annual 13,000 MLS® sales level.

It was noted back then the drop off in buyer activity was three times greater in the lower first-time homebuyer price ranges than in the higher move-up ones. At the same time WinnipegREALTORS® received a very conclusive response from its REALTOR® members indicating how they...

WinnipegREALTORS® Press Release, December 13, 2013

WINNIPEG - The first time the Winnipeg Multiple Listing Service® did $1 billion in sales activity was 2002. Then the MLS® did $2 billion in sales in 2007. Sales broke $3 billion in 2011. In 2013 the WinnipegREALTORS® co-operative marketing system has reached $3.2 billion at the end of November!

WinnipegREALTORS® president Richard Dettman reports the dollar volume strength has benefited from 24 sales valued over $1 million so far this year - 20 residential-detached homes and four condominiums.

Although real estate values continue to increase, the market appears to be establishing some degree of balance; a shift from the sellers’ markets of the past dozen years.

“With 3,454 properties available, it’s the best November for active inventory in the last 10 years,” said Dettman. “In November alone, there were 1,247 new listings, which is also the most entered for the month in 10 years. This gives...

WinnipegREALTORS® Press Release, November 8, 2013

WINNIPEG - With the exception of October 2007 when it was the only time MLS® sales for October eclipsed the 1,200 level, October 2013 is only five sales behind and set a new dollar volume record for this month going over $300 million for the first time. As a result, year-to-date dollar volume is on a record-setting pace at less than $50 million shy of reaching the $3 billion mark for the third year in a row. There are still two months to go. Year-to-date sales have come up substantially too from the beginning of the year (were down 13% after 3 months) to be within 1% of 2012’s MLS® sales activity.

Helping bring back MLS® sales to close in on last year’s brisk pace is the impressive month- to- month performance of condominium sales activity. They are up 15% over the same period in 2012 and in October shot up 42% over October 2012. While still just representing less than 16% of total MLS® sales in October as...