With the temperature in the high 20s, the humidex in the 80s (that can’t be good!), the UV index near 10 and August more than half over, let’s kick back and contemplate a potpourri of topics.
Internet use — An interesting study crossed our desk indicating that “… two-thirds of Canadians surfed the Internet in 2005, and those living in larger cities were more likely to have done so than those in rural areas and small towns …”
How does that translate to people surfing the Web to look for real estate?
The Canadian Real Estate Association websites (mls.ca for residential properties and icx.ca for commercial properties) bear out this phenomenal use of the Internet. In June of this year mls.ca attracted 2.8-million unique visitors in 30 days. They visited the site nearly eight million times and looked at a quarter of a billion pages. Just in June!
While the commercial site doesn’t create the demand the residential site does, icx.ca by itself generated nearly 90,000-unique visitors who looked at over five-million pages in June.
So, consumers are using the Internet to surf property information, and the most active sites for residential and commercial property are mls.ca and icx.ca. Get a REALTOR®. Get on MLS®.
MLS® and the beach — It has been one of the best summers on record (if you don’t count the wasps). And smart consumers have taken advantage of the gorgeous weather even when selling their homes this summer. By listing with a professional and having their REALTOR® put their property on the Multiple Listing Service®, sellers are able to go to the beach, go to the cottage or even leave the province and know that their property will still be shown to all qualified buyers, and offers will be professionally drafted while they relax — stress free.
In June, July and during half of August, over 7,500 families have entrusted their real estate needs to a REALTOR® and have successfully used the MLS® system to list or buy property in Winnipeg.
Life’s a beach — enjoy it!
Buying or selling, residential or commercial, get a REALTOR®, get on MLS®. Let 1,200 agents worry about your property while you have another cocktail.
Market statistics — Two thousand and five was a record year for listings, sales and dollar volume on the Winnipeg Real Estate Board’s Multiple Listing Service®. To date, 2006 is even better. To the end of July, listings are up another 10 per cent, sales are up over three per cent and dollar volume is up a whopping 18 per cent.
The market in August just keeps marching along. REALTORS® have added another 796 new listings to the MLS® inventory in the first 15 days of August and 543 sales have been recorded during the same time frame. Property valued at over $80 million traded hands in that 15-day period, bringing the annual dollar volume so far this year on the MLS® to over $1.237 billion.
Winnipeg in Bloom — REALTORS® through the Winnipeg Real Estate Board were involved in a couple of community events during the last week.
The board sponsors the Curb Appeal award of the city’s annual Winnipeg in Bloom contest. Over the summer months, REALTORS® judged properties submitted by proud neighbours and families. This year’s chair, Hannon Bell, was pleased to present the award to Helen and Martin Fydirchuk for their property at 52 Embassy Lane.
Over 500 people enjoyed the award ceremony hosted by Take Pride Winnipeg, which oversees Winnipeg in Bloom, at Rainbow Stage on August 14.
The next night, WREB president Walter Boni represented the city’s 1,200 REALTORS® at CanWest Global Park as the board and Shaw TV co-sponsored the baseball game. The largest crowd of the season watched the Goldeyes beat the Edmonton Cracker-Cats to keep their playoff hopes alive.