Baby boomers on the move

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This article was published 12/11/2019 (2151 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Home sales in Winnipeg and surrounding rural communities increased by six per cent from October 2018 to October 2019, while the average price for a detached home dropped by 2.7 per cent in the same period, Winnipeg Realtors said.

The supply of homes on the local market has grown over the past few years, said Winnipeg Realtors spokesman Peter Squire of the proprietary Multiple Listing Service (MLS) data the group released last week.

“So that makes for a very competitive resale market on all fronts, on all listings, whether it be those residential detached or condominiums, or even some of the other vacant land or other property types.”

Unlike hotter housing markets in Canadian cities where supply is never enough, Squire characterized the Winnipeg market as “certainly far more balanced.”

“And if you were to make a determination, you could say we’re tilted toward more of a buyer’s market based on that elevated supply.”

The year-over-year increase in sales listings and decrease in average sales price is partly attributable to Winnipeg Realtors’ expanding definition of the Winnipeg metro region, Squire said.

This year, the group’s metro Winnipeg data started tracking home sales in rural communities to Winnipeg’s south like Winkler, Morden and Altona. (It already included other communities outside Winnipeg, including Steinbach, Stonewall, Selkirk, Beausejour and Saint Adolphe, Squire said.)

But the year-over-year trends for October would have held even if those new areas weren’t included, Squire said.

He thinks generational change is one possible reason for the buildup in listings.

“I think one of the things that I’ve seen, from talking to some of our members, is that I think you’re starting to see that baby-boomer group… shed their bigger homes and look at alternatives, whether they’re going to rent, because there is more multi-family available than we’ve ever seen.”

Homes in Winnipeg and outlying communities remain comparatively affordable on a national basis, Squire said, making them particularly attractive to first-time buyers — especially in combination with current low mortgage rates.

“In a way, it’s a bit of a win-win,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of supply and choice for buyers, and they’re obviously noticing that when they go on our MLS system and see what’s available, but they’re also still seeing an active buyer community, because we’re generating some record levels.”

In October, 1,173 homes changed hands in Winnipeg Realtors’ metro Winnipeg area. Year-to-date, 12,086 sales were tracked through MLS, bringing area home sales close to an annual record.

The majority of detached homes and condos sold in October fetched a figure at or below list price. The average sales price for detached homes was $315,889, down 2.7 per cent from October 2018, and the average sales price for condos declined 2.8 per cent annually to $227,878.

“We’re a very stable housing market, we’re probably as stable as any housing market in the entire country,” Squire said. “So when I see a small dip in one month, that doesn’t concern me.”

From Jan. 1 through Oct. 31 of this year, the average detached-home price for the Winnipeg metro area was $324,312, compared with $323,001 for the same period in 2018.

The most expensive detached home sold through MLS in the region during October went for $1,250,000, and the priciest condo was $612,037.

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solomon.israel@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @sol_israel