Well, it looks official. Seven straight days of cold. And, the snow doesn’t seem to be disappearing. Guess it’s time to put up the lights.
We know what they say about March, “In like a lion and out like a lamb.”
In terms of MLS® statistics, November came in like a lion and went out like a lion.
October marked the ninth straight month of $100 million in sales through the Winnipeg Real Estate Board’s Multiple Listing Service®, which is a record never before contemplated. So, REALTORS® and WREB staff fully expected the bubble to burst in November.
Could it?
Would it be the 10th straight?
Over the first 15 days of November, it just felt short with over $49 million in sales. Double that and we’d hit $98 million — great numbers, but short of the $100 million objective.
So, the staff watched and waited. At closing on the 29th, the day before this column had to be put to bed, the monthly total sat at $92,985,000 for November. Could $7,015,000 in sales be recorded overnight and on the day of the 30th?
Tuesday, November 30, 8:15 a.m.: and a quick look at the sales reports generated overnight — total sales for the month now sit at $97,707,000! Only $2,293,000 to go and eight hours to do it.
By 3 p.m., another $4.4 million!
So, for the 10th straight month in 2004, sales through the MLS® topped $100 million! ($103,009,581), which is unheard of in the WREB’s 101 year history.
And, it’s not just dollar volume that’s up.
Listings have increased 9.1 per cent over the first 11 months last year (14,116 listings).
Sales are up 7.4 per cent over January to November, 2003 (10,953 sales which means there will be more than 11,000 sales by year-end).
And, total dollar volume for the year are at $1,285,734,778. It was only two years ago that dollar volume broke $1 billion for the entire year. Dollar volume hit $1.285 billion by the end of November!
The public realizes, despite the hype to the contrary, that in this market — in any market for that matter — it pays to use a REALTOR® when buying or selling.
Interest rates
There’s another way of looking at interest rates. Banks seem to make money in good markets and in bad.
So, why not buy bank stocks and rejoice if interest rates go up?
WREN
The final issue of the Winnipeg Real Estate News for 2004 hits the streets on December 17 and will be on the stands throughout the holiday season. Its shelf life will be three weeks, since the next issue won’t be out until the first week of the New Year.
If you miss the WREN, you miss the market. In spite of increased competition, the WREN remains the highest rated information source for real estate. It’s easy to find and easy to find listings of interest.
And, if you are in the WREN, your property is automatically on the most popular consumer site in Canada: mls.ca. As more and more people get computers over the holidays, your property will be front and centre.