The new year is off to a strong start for Winnipeg’s resale-homes market after it posted its third best January for sales of properties through the Multiple Listing Service.
A total of 588 properties changed hands last month through the local MLS, according to Winnipeg Realtors Association (WRA) data released today.
Not only was that the third highest January total in the association’s 112-year history, it was also a four per cent improvement from a year earlier, when 565 properties sold.
The high level of sales activity, fuelled in part by a 25 per cent increase in both new and available listings, also helped to establish a new dollar-volume record for January. It reached $151.66 million, which was also a four per cent improvement from a year earlier, when $146 million worth of properties were sold.
“At our annual forecast breakfast last month, we said 2015 would be a more balanced market and January results bear this point out, “ said WRA president Dave MacKenzie. “The healthy influx and overall supply of listings is keeping prices in check. It therefore makes it more affordable for buyers wanting to capitalize on such favourable mortgage rates.”
Mackenzie also noted market conditions can vary from city to city, “so national commentary about overheated Canadian real estate markets does not apply here. The law of supply and demand is solidly entrenched in Winnipeg’s market.”
The single-family-homes segment of the market had a particularly strong month, the association said, with sale up 11 per cent from a year earlier. However, the upper end of the market was quieter than usual, with only 16 sales of properties valued at $500,000 or more, compared to 27 in January of last year.
