I provided the full Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board March Press Release in my previous post. The full report can be viewed here. But here is a recap of the highlights and a deeper dive into the sales results for the City of Winnipeg, separate from the rest of the metro region.

Total February 2021 MLS® sales of 1240 were up 48.2% over February 2020, and up 71.3% over February 2019.

Drilling down a bit deeper in terms of property type:

1. Single family home sales on MLS® in February were up 45.1% over February 2020, and up 61.2% over February 2019.

2. Condominium sales on MLS® in February were up 46.6% over February 2020, and up 58.9% over February 2019.

Total listings on MLS® at the end of February for the metro region was 2501, 41.4% less than at this same time last year, and 33.0% less than at this time in 2019.

As always, I highlight that these monthly reports from the Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board are general, overall monthly market statistics for the entire region...

WINNIPEGREALTORS® PRESS RELEASE, MARCH 4, 2021

WINNIPEG -  February continues to show significant increases over the same month last year with 1,240 sales, a 48% rise in early year market activity and 68% in comparison to the 5-year average. The $395 million in dollar volume transacted in February was more pronounced with a 67% jump over February 2020.

Rapid turnover of listings due to heightened market activity resulted in current supply at the end of February down 41% — 2,501 versus 4,266 in 2020. New listings coming on the market in February were 1,661, down less than 3% compared to the same month in 2020 and up 5% over the 5-year average.

“New listings entered on our MLS® in February are in keeping with previous years,” said Kourosh Doustshenas, president of the Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board. “The difference in 2021, and much like the second half of 2020, is we are experiencing record-setting month over same month sales, so sellers remain...

WINNIPEGREALTORS® PRESS RELEASE, FEBRUARY 4, 2021

Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board - January Market Release - 2021 picked up right where 2020 left off with MLS® sales brisk and listings still in short supply. MLS® sales in January of 934 increased 28% while dollar volume was up 38% to over $285 million in comparison to the same month last year.

New listings entered on Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board’s MLS® System in January were down 15% compared to January 2020. The current listing supply at the end of January of 2,410 decreased 40% from the 4,002 listings available last year.

“As we enter 2021, the same tight market supply conditions experienced last year remain firmly entrenched,” said Kourosh Doustshenas, president of the Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board.

One indicator - or metric - used to gauge market demand strength is the percentage of listings converted to sales every month. January 2021 is leaps and bounds ahead of previous...

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 . . .

WINNIPEGREALTORS® PRESS RELEASE, December 5, 2020

WinnipegREALTORS® November Real Estate Market Release - Six consecutive months of record monthly sales have pushed year-to-date sales over 15,000 for the first time. This total is over 2,000 sales greater than the 11 months of MLS^® market activity in 2019. November sales of 1,193 were up 32% over the same month in 2019. Up until 2020, 900 sales has been the upper limit of this month.

New listings coming on the market in November are down 12% compared to a very active listing month in November 2019. Inventory or current listing supply going into December is 3,136. There were over 5,000 listings available for sale at this time last year.

Year-to-date sales of 15,066 are up 16% over the same period last year while dollar volume of $4.6 billion is ahead of 2019 by 19%. There are 22,646 listings entered on MLS^® this year, down 9% from the number of listings entered last year up until the end of November.

“Momentum...

WINNIPEGREALTORS® PRESS RELEASE, November 5, 2020

WinnipegREALTORS® October Real Estate Market Release - Five consecutive months of record-setting market activity puts an exclamation mark on a year like no other. As a result, the v-shaped recovery from the early spring economic shut-down, which began in earnest in June, brings year-to-date results to a record total of 13,876 sales.

Sales have risen 15% over the same period in 2019 and are ahead of the 13,662 annual total sales record set last year. Similarly, year-to-date dollar volume of $4.24 billion is up 18% over the same period in 2019, and higher than last year’s record dollar volume of $4.06 billion.

October sales of 1,595 increased 36% over October 2019 and dollar volume of $505.3 million eclipsed last October’s total by 48%. New listings of 1,786 entered in October were actually down 8.8% in comparison to October 2019. The 3,545 listings available for sale in November have declined 35% from the same time in 2019....

WINNIPEGREALTORS® PRESS RELEASE, October 8, 2020

WinnipegREALTORS® September Real Estate Market Release - September MLS® sales reaching an all-time high of 1,777 for this month compared to 1,211 in 2019 indicates the resurgence of sales since June continues throughout the third quarter.

Sales dollar volume in September of over half a billion dollars rose 57% compared to September 2019. The higher percentage increase in dollar volume compared to the 47% gain in sales is an indicator of upward pressure on prices. This is due to the accelerated sales activity and the rapid depletion of listings.

Active listings at the end of September are down 34% from 6,012 in 2019 to current inventory of 3,942.

“We are witnessing unprecedented times and certainly our third quarter sales activity of over 5,500 sales is unrivalled from any previous quarter in WinnipegREALTORS® history,” said Catherine Schellenberg, president of WinnipegREALTORS®. “For comparison sake, last...

WINNIPEGREALTORS® PRESS RELEASE, September 9, 2020

WinnipegREALTORS® August Real Estate Market Release - Recovery in sales since June has turned into a strong resurgence in MLS® market activity with August registering 1,845 sales, the third straight month of 1,800 plus sales. Sales in August are up 28% over August 2019 and the five-year average for this month.

Listings however have not rebounded with the same vigour. The 2,374 new listings entered on the market in August are down 1% from last August and dropped 9% in July when compared to the same month in 2019.  As a result, it leaves the current inventory of 4,232 listings down 30% from the same time last year. The number of sales in August represents 44% of the current inventory whereas last August it was 24%.

“Following three months of overall heightened sales activity we are not seeing the same response with listings coming on the market,” said Catherine Schellenberg, president of WinnipegREALTORS...

WINNIPEGREALTORS® PRESS RELEASE, August 11, 2020

WINNIPEG - On record for the first time, WinnipegREALTORS^® market region experienced consecutive months for top monthly MLS^® sales. July MLS^® sales are 1,898 compared to 1,897 in June which outpaced the previous record month in May 2019 of 1,705 sales.

July 2020 MLS^® sales are up 32% over July 2019 while dollar volume ($596.1 million) is up 36% over July 2019. Year-to-date MLS^® sales of 8,672 is 5% ahead of the same period last year and the dollar volume reached $2.61 billion in the first 7 months or a 7% increase over last year.

“We are witnessing a very different market this year, with the record month in July bringing us beyond our year-to-date sales in 2019,” said Catherine Schellenberg, president of WinnipegREALTORS^®. “While WinnipegREALTORS^® forecasted another strong year following a successful 2019 with an expanded rural area, we did not expect such a s...

WINNIPEGREALTORS® PRESS RELEASE, July 9, 2020

WINNIPEG - June sales activity took a major step forward towards bringing year-to-date sales back to last year’s total. Multiple Listing Service® sales in June of 1,897 increased 24% over the same month in 2019 and 15% over the 5-year June average. This monthly sales total of just fewer than 1,900 succeeds the previous best month on record in May 2019 when there were 1,705 sales.

Year-to-date sales at the mid-way point of the year are 6,779, less than 1% or 44 unit sales behind the same period in 2019, and 1% below the 5-year average of 6,865 sales.

“Our sales recovery which began in the second half of May confirms Manitobans are feeling confident in transacting in WinnipegREALTORS® market region,” said Catherine Schellenberg, president of WinnipegREALTORS®. “I give credit to all Manitobans who are doing their part to follow social (physical) distancing protocols and a special note of thanks to essential...

WINNIPEGREALTORS® PRESS RELEASE, June 4, 2020

WINNIPEG - Sales of 1,377 decreased 19% in May compared to the same month last year while just over $400 million worth of dollar volume transactions fell 23% compared to May 2019. The 2,428 new listings entered in May were down 21% from last year. There are still 4,621 listings available for sale in June.

“May market activity was clearly impacted by COVID-19 at the outset of May with MLS® sales down similar to the 30% drop off in April sales by mid-month,” said Catherine Schellenberg, president of WinnipegREALTORS®. “It is worth noting however that recovery took hold in the second half of the month with sales from May 20-26th actually outpacing the number recorded the same week in May 2019. Listings also saw an improvement over April with the percentage decline cut in half.”

Year-to-date MLS® sales are at 4,884, less than 8% off the pace set in 2019 while dollar volume of $1.44 billion is down close...

WINNIPEGREALTORS® PRESS RELEASE, May 7, 2020

WINNIPEG - Following the best first quarter market results in WinnipegREALTORS® history, the shutdown of the economy to flatten COVID-19 put the brakes on the market with a reduction in sales and listings.

Multiple Listing Service® sales of 851 were down 30% while the 1,568 new listings entered on the market in April decreased 42% in comparison to April 2019. A number of prospective sellers and buyers took a wait and see approach to what usually is a big jump in activity to kick off the spring market. Overall inventory of listings available for sale remain at a healthy level of 4,466, slightly down 3% from the 5-year average.

Despite this monthly dip in sales, year-to-date sales of 3,511 are just 2% behind the same period in 2019 and 3% down from the 5-year average. Year-to-date dollar volume of just over $1 billion is down 3% from 2019. Similar to sales, dollar volume was off to its fastest three month start with close to...

As you have seen the from the first three (January, February and March) monthly market reports from the WinnipegREALTORS® Association, the real estate market in the Winnipeg Metro Region started strong in 2020.

But as always, I emphasize that these monthly reports are general, overall monthly market statistics for the entire region and for a variety of property types.

Given what is occurring in the world right now with the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic slowdown, I felt it appropriate to supplement the monthly report with more details as to market conditions within a more specific geographic area and as it pertains to specific property types.

If we look at the city of Winnipeg only, the residential (single family homes, SxS’s, town homes, etc.) MLS® market numbers for the entire month of March look reasonably healthy . . . new listings up 1.4% over the previous year and sales down only 3.4%. Pretty remarkable given all that is going on in the world right now.

But if we...

WINNIPEGREALTORS® PRESS RELEASE, APRIL 6, 2020

WINNIPEG - March finished off a strong first quarter of sales activity with 1,089 sales, an 8 % increase over March 2019. First quarter MLS® sales rose 12% over the same period in 2019.

MLS® stands for the Multiple Listing Service®. It is a cooperative real estate selling system operated and promoted by WinnipegREALTORS® that includes an up to date inventory of listings from participating REALTORS®.

MLS® new listings entered on the market in March fell 2% in comparison to March 2019 but remained up nearly 6% for the first three months. Active listings or available listings at end of March of 4,723 remain above previous years with a 12% jump over the same time last year and the same percentage rise over the 5-year average.

“Our first quarter has been consistently solid every month,” said Catherine Schellenberg, president of WinnipegREALTORS®. “Buyers have been taking advantage of affordable...

WINNIPEGREALTORS® PRESS RELEASE, MARCH 6, 2020

WINNIPEG - MLS® sales activity in February replicated January’s 15% increase resulting in 837 sales. The extra day helped as the only other year to see sales rise above 800 in February was in the 2016 leap year. Dollar volume of $236 million was not as strong with a 10% increase over February 2019.

The over 1,700 new listings entered on MLS® is an indicator of early year enthusiasm as are up 18% over the same month last year. This keeps the local market well supplied with 4,266 active listings available for sale in March. The big difference from year to year is in residential-detached listings as they rose 22% over February 2019 while condominium listings entered were slightly down.

As a result, total MLS® inventory is sitting at just over 5 months based on current sales activity.

“It is important to keep in mind some of the spike in residential-detached listings this year is attributable to Winnip...

WinnipegREALTORS® Press Release, February 7, 2020

WINNIPEG - 2020 got off to a strong start with 731 MLS® sales, a 15% increase over January 2019 and 18% more than the 5-year average total. Dollar volume rose 18% to $207.4 million. The 1,870 listings entered on MLS® in January were up less than 5% and at month end there were 4,002 listings available for sale, nearly 7% higher than last year.

“Positive momentum from the end of 2019 continues in 2020 with brisk sales for this time of year,” said Catherine Schellenberg, president of WinnipegREALTORS®. “Helping kick start 2020 are very favourable mortgage rates with 5-year fixed residential mortgage rates available for under 3%.”

Affordability is a real strength in the WinnipegREALTORS® market region and makes the dream of homeownership possible. Over half of all detached homes and condominiums are listed below $300,000 and another 20% are listed from $300,000 to $400,000.

The flight to affordability...

WinnipegREALTORS® Press Release, January 10, 2020

WINNIPEG - December sales of 674 were exceptional — up 25% over the same month in 2018 and 8% above the 5-year average. As a result, activity this month propel year-end sales to the highest level on record at 13,662, a 7% increase over 2018 and slightly ahead of the 13,632 MLS^® sales transacted in 2016.

Similarly, December’s impressive dollar volume of close to $200 million pushed the year-end dollar volume total over the $4 billion threshold level for the first time. Dollar volume in 2019 of $4.059 billion rose over 7% compared to 2018.

Last year also ushered in the highest number of listings entered on WinnipegREALTORS^® MLS^®. The 25,741 listings increased 8% over 2018 and 6% above the 5-year average. The percentage of MLS^® listings selling or what is referred to as the sales-to-listings ratio is still within 2% of the 5-year average. Notable in 2019 is that residential-detached listings sold, on...

WinnipegREALTORS® Press Release, December 5, 2019

WINNIPEG - November sales, dollar volume and listings contributed to a strong second half finish to 2019.

November’s 902 sales transacted on WinnipegREALTORS® MLS® were up 4% over November 2018 and on record to be the second time sales eclipsed 900 in this month. Dollar volume of $270.8 million is the highest for the month of November and increased nearly 10% over November 2018. 

Listings continue their record-setting pace this year with an 18% increase over November 2018 in new listings coming to market. Active listings or inventory at the end of November is sitting at 21% above last year with over 5,000 listings available for sale.

“Manitobans are actively engaged in our real estate market this year given the extent of MLS® listing and sales activity we are experiencing,” said Kenneth Clark, president of WinnipegREALTORS®. “The recovery we predicted in 2019 over 2018 has come to...