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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

City's house prices rising again

Q1 statistics show rebound from slump

By: Kevin Rollason

Posted: 04/9/2009 1:00 AM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

Royal LePage’s John Froese in front of an Old Orchard Road home that recently sold for $1.1 million. He says three million-dollar units were sold in the city in March. (WAYNE GLOWACKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS)

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(WINNIPEG FREE PRESS)

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Winnipeg's house prices continue to rise like a thermometer instead of being a barometer of the country's housing market.

While prices slumped in the rest of Canada, certain housing segments in Winnipeg -- detached bungalows, standard two-storey, and standard condominiums -- dropped their average prices slightly in the fourth quarter last year, but then rebounded during the first three months this year.

According to the Royal LePage House Price Survey released on Wednesday, overall average house prices in the city were up.

Detached bungalows went up 1.1 per cent to $231,663 from $229,125 on average, two-storey homes rose 4.2 per cent to $253,069 from $242,943, and condominiums were up 5.8 per cent to $145,943 from $138,000.

John Froese, a broker for Royal LePage Prime Real Estate, said thanks goes to Manitoba's economy.

"We have a very diversified economy," Froese said.

"The provincial budget shows a surplus and we've got low interest rates. We have a great bus manufacturer and the agricultural community had a good year last year."

Froese said the local real estate market is more balanced, neither a buyer's nor a seller's market.

"We still have multiple offers, but a third of the listings are selling at full price or more. It used to be half, but a third is good when we're supposed to be in a recession."

Froese said the average house selling price in Winnipeg has risen from $190,745 in January to $206,380 in February to $222,029 in March.

In fact, he said the Winnipeg real estate market was so buoyant that three million-dollar homes were sold last month.

The report also looked at specific areas of Winnipeg.

In River Heights, though the average price of a two storey home went up 13.9 per cent -- to $287,750 from $252,600 -- the price of a bungalow in the same area dropped 4.6 per cent to $229,000 from $240,000, the biggest drop for that type of house in the city.

Southdale, with a drop of 4.6 per cent, saw the steepest decrease in the city in the average price for two-storey houses.

For condominiums, all areas of the city saw increases in average prices, from a high of 7.2 per cent in River Heights, to $149,000 from $139,000, to a low of 3.1 per cent in South St. Vital, to $140,600 from $136,400.

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition April 9, 2009 B4

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