From WinnipegREALTORS® Real Estate News Publication, November 9, 2012.

WinnipegREALTORS® president Shirley Przybyl is confident that MLS® sales will top $3 billion for the second consecutive year and will likely establish a new dollar volume record by the end of 2012.

Dollar volume sales in October nearly reached $282, which included the sale of three $1-million-plus homes and a $925,000 condominium, resulting in a new record for the month.

“We knew coming into the second half of 2012, especially the final two months, that we were up against some absolutely terrific all-time or near-best monthly sales performances in 2011,” Przybyl said. “So it will not be easy to maintain our slim lead to the end of the year.

“On the other hand, we are confident in saying that WinnipegREALTORS® will once again hit $3 billion in sales,” she added.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) reported in its recent Winnipeg Housing Market Outlook that...

WinnipegREALTORS® Press Release; November 6, 2012

WINNIPEG - Only October 2007 surpasses this October in sales but dollar volume worth nearly $282 million, including three $1 million plus home sales and a $925,000 condominium, resulted in a new October dollar volume record. It also sets up an interesting finishing two months with a razor-thin lead in MLS® sales over 2011 and within 140 sales of the best year ever in 2007. New listings are positive with over 1,500 new properties put on the MLS® in October or 8% more than the same month last year. There are over 3,000 active MLS® properties available for purchase in November of which 1,748 are residential-detached or single family homes. Based on previous November listing entries, you can expect another 1,000 MLS® properties coming to market.

So buyers should be encouraged and also take some consolation knowing October had a two to one ratio of residential-detached sales going for below list price rather than for above...

From WinnipegREALTORS® Real Estate News Publication, November 2, 2012.

Canada is not poised for an American-style real estate meltdown, according to a new report from CIBC World Markets. 

While there are a number of factors that raise concerns about Canada’s housing market, according to the report, there are fundamental differences between the Canadian and U.S. markets that should see a soft landing and no American-style meltdown for the real estate market here.

“To be sure, house prices in Canada will probably fall in the coming year or two, but any comparison to the American market of 2006 reflects deep misunderstanding of the credit landscapes of the pre-crash environment in the U.S. and today’s Canadian market,” said CIBC deputy chief economist Benjamin Tal.

While the debt-to-income ratio in Canada just broke the American record set in 2006,  Tal said, “this ratio is more a headline grabber than a serious analytical tool. There is...