The resale real estate market in Winnipeg in 2004 was like Team Canada at the World Junior Championships in Fargo, North Dakota. It started tentatively but with promise, steamrolled through the round-robin of spring, summer and fall, and finished with Gold in December!
Just like Team Canada, who had six different goal scorers in their 6-1 victory over the Russians, WREB’s Multiple Listing Service® had nine consecutive $100-million months in 2004 on its way to setting a record $1.35 billion in sales.
It was only 2002 when the Winnipeg Real Estate Board had its first ever $1-billion year in resale activity. Now, just two years later, REALTOR members of the board have eclipsed that record by almost 33 per cent!
Here’s how the numbers break down for 2004:
• Listings — 14,571, up 8.4 per cent from 2003.
• Sales — 11,447, up 6.3 per cent from 2003.
• Dollar volume — $1.35 billion, up from $1.15 billion in 2003.
The board started the year with 493 sales in January for a total of $51.9 million in volume. It finished the year with 494 sales in December, totaling $60.1 million in dollar volume. In between, there was a record-setting nine straight — March through November inclusive — $100-million months.
But even with these record setting numbers, Winnipeg is still a pretty affordable place to buy a home. While some markets don’t even track the “under-$100,000,” residential-detached housing market, a full 36.5 per cent of the resales through Winnipeg’s MLS® in 2004 were under $100,000. Fifty-one per cent of the residential detached homes sold between $100,000 and $200,000, 10.27 per cent was between $200, 000 and $300,000, and 2.27 per cent was over $300,000.
So, 2004 was memorable for many reasons. In the real estate market, it will be remembered as a superactive sellers’ market with the most sales since 1987 and the highest dollar volume ever — a gold medal performance.
Even if gold is not in the cards, the MLS® system is the still best marketing strategy no matter what the market is like — a sellers’ market when supply is short and demand high; or a buyers’ market where listings are plentiful and demand low; or a balanced market where supply and demand are steady — the Multiple Listing Service® provides the greatest exposure for sellers. MLS® is also the greatest single source of market data for buyers. And, MLS® is used by an informed professional network of over 75,000 REALTORS nation-wide.
The MLS® system is fully integrated. It is only through the Multiple Listing Service® that properties are automatically advertised in the Winnipeg Real Estate News, the primary source of real estate information for Winnipeggers. It is also through the MLS® that properties are automatically sent to and displayed on mls.ca, the website launched in 1996 that has become the most popular consumer site in Canada for real estate property information. In 2003 alone, over 650,000 listings were displayed on the site and it attracts in excess of 115-million page views every month!
Only a REALTOR can list a property on the MLS®. And by using a REALTOR, consumers can be assured that they are dealing with an individual who is fully insured, who works within a Code of Ethics established nationally by the Canadian Real Estate Association and who is committed to Standards of Business Practice adopted by the board to ensure fair treatment of all parties to a transaction.
Gold all the way!
If you’re not using the MLS®, you’re not in the market.