WINNIPEG - There is something to be said for consistency. Be it the second quarter as a whole or May and June in particular, MLS® market activity is very similar. Sales for May and June are ranked fifth best ever for their respective months, with dollar volume as the best ever. The average residential-detached sales price has remained firm since April to hover around the $250,000 mark. Activity within the different price ranges is similar too with both months each having a million dollar plus sale and more upper end sales.
While sales have not been as busy as a few years ago, they are remaining solid and dollar volume continues to show year over year gains. 2010 marks the first time there have been three consecutive months (April to June) of over $300 million worth of MLS® sales activity. June 2010 is the highest dollar volume month on record at $329 million. You only have to go back to 2005 to see dollar volume for this month was less than $200 million. The previous two Junes also surpassed $300 million in sales activity.
June MLS® unit sales were down 4% (1,432/1,490) while dollar volume was up 6% ($329.2 million/$311.2 million) in comparison to the same month last year. Year-to-date MLS® sales are up 6% (6,452/6,096) while dollar volume has risen 17% ($1.45 billion/$1.24 billion) over the same period in 2009. MLS® listings entered on MLS® for the first six months went over 10,000 and are ahead by 4% over last year. This increase in listings has helped create more balance in the market.
“Most revealing when examining the numbers in June is how there are fewer first-time buyers entering the market in comparison to last year as homes selling under $200,000 were down 32% from June 2009,” said Claude Davis, president of WinnipegREALTORS®. “Homes selling under $100,000 on average took more than twice as long to sell than the overall average days to sell in June.”
“When we asked our REALTOR® members this spring about the affordability of the current market, 75% of them said housing affordability is becoming more of an issue in finding homes buyers want,” said Davis. “Based on the significant drop off in sales in the lower price ranges, first-time buyers have to be one of the key market segments our members are concerned about. Fewer of them are buying and the ones that are, more often than naught end up buying homes or condominiums above $200,000.”
Based on the first two quarters of 2010 MLS® sales activity, it is becoming more evident when looking at the various MLS® areas how the average area residential-detached sales prices are shifting to higher levels. Only two MLS® areas now, the heart of the North End and downtown, have homes on average selling for under $100,000. Even MLS® areas with average home sale prices from $100,000 to $200,000 are less frequent. For example, only Fort Rouge in southwest Winnipeg and Old St. Vital in southeast Winnipeg are still under $200,000.
As for condominium average sale prices, the majority of MLS® areas throughout Winnipeg and the rural municipalities remain under $200,000.
On the higher end of the price spectrum, Tuxedo for the first time has a year-to-date average sales price of over $600,000 and South Headingley is not far behind at $560,000.
For the first six months of 2010, homes selling for above list price and below list price are evenly split at 45% with the remainder selling at list price. For condominiums, units selling under list price are closer to 50 % while those selling over list price are at 30%.
For residential-detached sales in June, the most active price range was the $200,000 to $249,999 at 24% of total sales. Nearly two out of three sales were over $200,000. The average days on market for sales of residential-detached listings was 23 days, 2 days slower than last month and 2 days quicker than June 2009.
Condominium sales were predominant in the $150,000 to $199,999 price range with 44% of total sales and the next lower price range of $100,000 to $149,999 was a distant second at 20%. The average days on market in June fell back to 33 days from 27 the previous month and 29 days in June 2009.
> Established in 1903, WinnipegREALTORS® is a professional association representing over 1,600 real estate brokers, salespeople, appraisers, and financial members active in the Greater Winnipeg Area real estate market. Its REALTOR® members adhere to a strict code of ethics and share a state-of-the-art Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) designed exclusively for REALTORS®. WinnipegREALTORS® serves its members by promoting the benefits of an organized real estate profession. REALTOR®, MLS® and Multiple Listing Service® are trademarks owned and controlled by the Canadian Real Estate Association and are used under licence.
For further information, contact Peter Squire at 786-8854.
