May dollar volume record broken and more listings are available to home buyers

May set an all-time record for MLS® dollar volume for the month with $438.4 million in sales.
In its May MLS® statistical report, WinnipegREALTORS® described it as the “highest monthly MLS® dollar volume in 111 years,” and four per cent higher than the same month last year.
Meanwhile, MLS® sales were the third highest on record for the month which helped bring year-to-date sales even with 2013.
“Where we are ahead of 2013, however, is listings,” said Peter Squire, the market analyst for WinnipegREALTORS®. “The over 4,500 active listings by month-end are up 22 per cent from last year.
“New listings entered on the MLS® in May rose 10 per cent over May 2013.”
Squire said it wasn’t until 2006 that new listings consistently topped 2,000. In May this year, there were 2,755 new listings.
“We are meeting expectations as far as our MLS® forecast goes and encouraged by the continued increase in MLS® listing supply to create more options for buyers in our local market,” said David Powell, the president of WinnipegREALTORS®.
“June should be another solid strong performing month for us and help finish off a solid second quarter,” he added.
On the hand, an increase in resale market listings hasn’t been good news for the new home market.
Dianne Himbeault, the senior market analyst for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, said a slower pace in single-family housing construction this year is the result of “increased competition from a well-supplied resale market.”
In May, there 67 fewer single-detached houses built in Winnipeg and the surrounding municipalities when compared to the 260 built in the same month last year.
Himbeault said another contributing factor to the decline in construction numbers is “higher new home inventories.”
With the strong MLS® dollar volume, the average price of residential-detached resale home climbed to $300,786, the first time the average price has been iover $300,000.
The year-to-date average price was lower at $294,232.
“May had three homes sell for over $1 million,” said Squire, “including one of the highest on record at $1.82 million in Fort Garry.”
During May, one-third of all residential-detached homes sold for above list price and another 10 per cent sold at list price.
It was reported by WinniupegREALTORS® that a number of listings failed to sell in May, so the conversion of new listings to sales was just 57 per cent.
“This places the association’s many Winnipeg and rural MLS® areas within balanced market conditions,” said Squire.
“There are always exceptions to the rule,” he added. “Some Winnipeg MLS® neighbourhoods are still seeing much higher conversions of listings to sales. The main Charleswood MLS® neighbourhood south of Roblin Boulevard in May had 18 residential-detached sales compared to 15 new listings.
“In a situation like this, the remaining active listings from the end of the previous month are being sold to enable a higher number of sales than new listings.
“Fort Garry and Linden Woods are two other MLS® areas with a very high equivalent number of sales to new listings.”
Squire said recreational beach MLS® areas, such as both the east and west sides of Lake Winnipeg, experienced fewer conversions of listings to sales, “as the former tend to come on string at the beginning of the cottage season with sales following later.”
He said sales in cottage country have also been delayed by poor spring weather conditions.
The most active residential-detached price range in May was between $250,000 and $299,999 with 26 per cent of total sales. The price range between $200,000 and $249,999 followed with 16 per cent of total sales. 
Condominium sales were most active in the $150,000 to $199,999 price range, accounting for 30 per cent of all sales, while the $200,000 to $249,999 price range finished at a respectable 22 per cent.
Meanwhile, Himbeault said an increase in local multi-family construction offset the decline in single-detached new home construction, with total housing starts continuing to edge upward in May.