Strong housing demand expected to prevail well into spring

Nearly 60 per cent of all MLS® 

listings sold for above list price in February, according to a release from the 

WinnipegREALTORS® Association.

“In comparison, 44 per cent of residential-detached listings went for above list price in February 2007,”said association president Darlene Clare.

“Demand remains strong for residential-detached MLS® listings,” said Clare.

“To date, the MLS® market is behaving as expected with strong demand continuing to put upward pressure on house prices,” she added. “Sellers’ market conditions will prevail well into the spring; as such, anyone thinking of buying or selling a property should be contacting their REALTOR® now.”

At nearly $140 million, dollar volume MLS® sales set a new record in February. Dollar volume increased by eight per cent when compared to the same month last year.

On the other hand, unit sales decreased by three per cent with 772 units sold in February.

Clare said new listings were on par with February 2007, but there were not enough listings to bring inventory up to the 2007 level  for this time of year.

“Despite sales being off three per cent, it was still the fourth highest total on record for the month of February,” Clare  added.

Residential-detached sales in February were most active in the $160,000 to $199,999 price range with 22 per cent of total sales activity. Equivalent to this market share were sales over $250,000 — 11 per cent each for the price ranges $250,000 to $299,999 and over $300,000 categories.

There were less than 10 sales in the price range of $39,999 and below.

The average days on the market for a listing in February was 25, which was five days less than January this year and two days less than February 2007.