Latest News

Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

A steal of a deal

Manitobans buying up deeply discounted homes in U.S.

By: Murray McNeill

4/06/2009 1:00 AM | Comments: 4

‘It’s just crazy. I never in my wildest dreams thought it would be this busy’ — Diane Olson, ex-Winnipeg cop who sells real estate in Phoenix

WINNIPEG — Bargain-hunting Manitobans are snapping up U.S. vacation homes at a fevered pitch, with one Phoenix realtor doing seven such deals last week alone.

"It's just crazy," Diane Olson, an ex-Winnipeg cop who sells real estate in the Arizona city, said in an interview Wednesday. "I never in my wildest dreams thought it would be this busy."

Enlarge Image

Example One -- This four-bedroom, 1,900-sq.-ft. home that was valued at $300,000 in 2005 recently sold for $117,500. (WINNIPEG FREE PRESS)

Enlarge Image

Example Two -- This four-bedroom, 2,700-sq.-ft house that was valued at $535,000 in 2006 sold recently for $225,000. (WINNIPEG FREE PRESS)

And Phoenix isn't the only U.S. hot spot where Manitobans are snagging vacation properties at drastically reduced prices. The cost of vacation properties has plummeted in the wake of the U.S. subprime mortgage and housing market crisis.

A Winnipeg woman and four other family members recently pooled their resources and bought a condominium in Florida for about a third less than similar units were selling for two or three years ago.

And Winnipeg real estate agent Walter Boni, who bought a condo in Las Vegas 18 months ago, said he knows of at least four clients or friends who are also looking to buy in the desert city.

One of the Winnipeggers who recently bought a condo through Olson -- John Heppenstall, owner of Hep Communications -- said he's so thrilled with the deal he got, he's thinking of doing another.

"Why not?" Heppenstall said. "I've been on the sidelines a lot and saying 'I should have done that.' So this time I talked to my wife and we decided let's do it. And the best-case scenario happened."

He said they picked up a two-bedroom condo in an upscale Phoenix neighbourhood for $91,000 that had sold for $224,000 just two and a half years ago.

And since it will be a couple of years before his family can use it as a vacation home, they're renting it out and have a Phoenix property management firm looking after it for them, he said.

Olson, a real estate agent with HomeSmart, said she's lost track of how many properties she's sold to Manitoba buyers since hosting several seminars in Winnipeg last year.

"I've done a countless number. A lot of sales," she said.

She said last week was an especially busy one. She usually averages one sale a week to a Manitoban.

She said even when the Canadian dollar sank below 80 cents U.S. earlier this year, Manitobans kept on buying. And now that's it's back up above 90 cents, they're even more hot to trot.

A spokesman for the family that bought the condo in Florida said the dollar's recent revival is great, but that's not why they bought.

Chad Wilton, 27, who grew up in Winnipeg but now lives in Ottawa, said he flies his own plane and was looking for a vacation property in a Florida community that has its own airstrip.

They found a townhouse in a gated community near Daytona Beach with a private airstrip and a price that was too good to pass up -- $130,000 for a two-bedroom that was worth nearly $200,000 just two or three years ago.

"We also wanted a place the whole family could enjoy," he said, and their condo is close to the beach and to Disney World.

Boni said one of the things he likes about Las Vegas is there's always something to do in the city that never sleeps.

Although he wouldn't say what they paid for their two-bedroom condo, he did say "it was good."

He said they try to get down there four or five times a year, usually for a week at a time.

"We really, really enjoy it," he said.

murray.mcneill@freepress.mb.ca

Bargains in the desert

Here are two examples of some of recent deals in the Phoenix area:

Example One -- This four-bedroom, 1,900-sq.-ft. home that was valued at $300,000 in 2005 recently sold for $117,500.

Example Two -- This four-bedroom, 2,700-sq.-ft house that was valued at $535,000 in 2006 sold recently for $225,000.

Two more examples, this time of Phoenix properties that were purchased by Winnipeg buyers:

Example One -- A three-bedroom, two-bathroom condominium that sold for $320,000 in 2007 and was purchased recently for $117,900.

Example Two -- A four-bedroom, 2,457-sq.-ft, two-storey house that was valued at $304,000 in 2006 and sold recently for $116,500

-- Source: Diane Olson, HomeSmart in Phoenix

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition June 4, 2009 B5

Rate this
This article is currently rated an average of 4 out of 5 (1 votes).

We want you to tell us what you think of our articles. If the story moves you, compels you to act or tells you something you didn’t know, mark it high. If you thought it was well written, do the same. If it doesn’t meet your standards, mark it accordingly.

You can also register and/or login to the site and join the conversation by leaving a comment.

Rate it yourself by rolling over the stars and clicking when you reach your desired rating. We want you to tell us what you think of our articles. If the story moves you, compels you to act or tells you something you didn’t know, mark it high.

4 Comments

Posted by: restless

June 5, 2009 at 9:13 AM

Wow so much criticizm.I was thinking as i read the article,"Ah this is what some winnipegers with money do hmmm.As a well travelled person(truck driver)i have often fancied living south.I would say anywhere from Falfurrias Tx and south to Corpus Christie,Tx. Signs are posted Welcome Snow Birds.This area has a diverse culture.Road side stands of fruit veggies,hand made mexican products and the list goes on.Yepper if i had the bucks that's where i would go....Have Fun everybody.

Report abusive comment

Posted by: libertarian

June 4, 2009 at 6:31 PM

I can just see the article in the FP a year from now when a lot of these houses have been burgled for their kitchen cabinets, furnace, ac and plumbing fixtures. Many of these developments have houses that are abandoned........ there's no one to watch or care. And condos are an even bigger problem. If there's only 50 occupants in a 150 unit complex; guess which 50 owners will be paying all the common area charges for the 150 units?
When something appears too good to be true there's always those ready to chance.......... just don't come back crying in the end.

Report abusive comment

Posted by: null

June 4, 2009 at 5:35 PM

There are also some wonderful Condos and homes at unbelievable prices located in Las Vegas Nevada! I have posted some examples of units priced as low as $39 per square foot in great locations. [Edited]

Report abusive comment

Posted by: Dunder Mifflin

June 4, 2009 at 11:40 AM

Ok, all nice & good, but what is going on with surrounding houses? Are you buying into a neighborhood that is decimated by foreclosures ? Chances are if you buy in a location where the prices were sky-high a few years ago, that means people bought them with that sub-prime scam, and now the banks would be owning lots of them. $300,000 homes being smashed apart by thieves looking for copper. Mansions turned into crack houses, squatters everywhere.

But Winnipegers love a good deal, so go for it !