Market starts 2019 with a bang

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This article was published 11/03/2019 (2423 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg’s real estate market has shown strong growth so far this year compared with the sluggish beginning of 2018, according to data released by Winnipeg Realtors.

While 2018 got off to a slow start for the city’s real estate industry, both January and February this year have posted strong sales numbers, leading industry players to think historically low mortgage rates have set the stage for a market recovery.

“We have now had two back to back months of improvement in sales and listing gains over 2018. While early in the year, and a cold one at that, it does show buyers are making necessary adjustments to mortgage regulation rules to complete a transaction,” Kenneth Clark, president of Winnipeg Realtors, said in a written statement.

“Some of the increase in listings, most notable in January with a 19 per cent increase in new listings coming on the market, is that sellers are feeling more confident about taking their next step in the local housing market.”

In February, there were 724 sales in the city, a six per cent increase over the same month in 2018. That represents a 10 per cent increase in dollar volume at more than $215 million.

Last month, 1,447 new listings were added to the market, bringing the number of active listings in the city up to 3,735. That marks a 10 per cent increase in the number of listings over February 2018.

Year-to-date sales are also up eight per cent over last year and three per cent over the five-year average.

Winnipeg’s market shows signs of remaining affordable despite skyrocketing real estate prices in other major Canadian municipalities, such as Toronto and Vancouver. Half of all condominium sales in February went for less than $200,000, while roughly half of all single-family homes were sold for less than $300,000.

“The combination of a wide choice of affordable properties to purchase in our local market gives us an advantage over more expensive housing markets in the country,” Clark said.

There were 505 single-family homes sold in February, which marks an increase of six per cent over the same month in 2018. Condominium sales also went up with 107 sales, representing a five per cent increase.

Commercial properties, single attached homes and duplexes all registered double-digit percentage increases over February 2018, according to the data.

Winnipeg Realtors, which represents more than 1,950 real estate professionals and has operated in the city since 1903, said March will have strong implications for the local real estate market, since all three levels of government will release their annual budgets.

The City of Winnipeg unveiled its preliminary operating and capital budget on March 1. The Manitoba government delivered its budget for 2019-20 on March 7. The federal government will release its budget March 19.

ryan.thorpe@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @rk_thorpe