I provided the full WinnipegREALTORS® January Press Release in my previous post. The full report can be viewed here, but here are some of the highlights and a deeper dive into the 2020 sales results for the City of Winnipeg, separate from the rest of the metro region

Let's start with the entire metro region:  Total December 2020 MLS® sales of 970 were up 43.9% over December 2019. And total MLS® sales for 2020, all property types, was 16,033, up 17.40% from 2019!

Drilling down a bit deeper in terms of property type:

- Single family home sales on MLS® in December were up 31.9%, and for the year up 16.9%.

- Condominium sales on MLS® in December were up 62.0%, and for the year up 5.5%.

Total listings on MLS® at the end of December for the metro region was 2,316, 37.8% less than at this same time last year.

If we look at Winnipeg only, inventory on MLS® for residential homes (single family homes, SxS’s, town homes, etc.) at the end of December...

WINNIPEGREALTORS® PRESS RELEASE, JANUARY 7, 2021

WinnipegREALTORS® December Real Estate Market Release - December 2020 MLS® sales of 970 elevated year-end total sales to 16,033, a 17% increase over 2019. This year has been a remarkable record-setting one with 7 consecutive months of new highs. December continues this record with sales up 44% over December 2019 and 41% over the 5-year average.

December dollar volume of nearly $290 million increased 46% over December 2019 and pushed dollar volume up to over $4.9 billion, a 21% increase over the previous highest dollar volume year of 2019.

For all of the record sales activity the last 7 months, active listings or inventory going into 2021 is down 38% to 2,316 listings. Residential-attached properties (include single-attached, townhouse and duplexes) help illustrate this point.

In December, the 90 residential-attached sales transacted doubled last year’s total and represented 90% of the supply at month end of 100 listings....

The increase in lumber prices that has impacted new home construction in 2020, will continue into 2021, according to a recent CBC report.

The CBC report quotes mostly national numbers, but increased lumber costs have rippled through our local market as well.  In the Winnipeg area, base pricing on new homes has seen an increase of approximately 5 - 7 %, since June 2020.

When the lumber price increases will slow, or where a plateau in pricing will end up, no one really knows.  But if you are considering a new home build in 2021, my recommendation would be to make a commitment and lock in your pricing sooner than later.  The savings to your bottom line will most likely be significant . . .