Dollar volume sales exceed $300 million for first timeMay marked the first time REALTORS® sold MLS® properties for a total exceeding $300 million during a single month.

May marked the first time REALTORS® sold MLS® properties for a total exceeding $300 million during a single month.

The close to $320 million in MLS® sales activity raised the year-to-date dollar volume sales total by the end of May past the $1-billion level. Just six years ago, 12 months of market activity was required to reach $1 billion in sales. By the end of May 2007, just $897.5 million in MLS® sales had been recorded.

Helping boost the May dollar volume total was the sale of a $1.1-million home overlooking Peanut Park in Crescentwood. A 3,000-square-foot condominium in Tuxedo sold for $700,000.

WinnipegREALTORS® Association president Darlene Clare said 67 per cent of the 1,184 residential-detached homes listed on MLS® sold at or above list price.

“Condominiums were even more impressive with 75 per cent of the 147 sold selling at or above list price,” said Clare.

As a result of the brisk sales activity, the average residential-sale price rose by 13.7 per cent over May last year to $221,431. The average condominium sale price rose 23 per cent over May 2007 to $184,836.

May also marked the first time 

in a single month that sales over $200,000 surpassed sales below that 

figure.

There were 1,546 MLS® sales in May, which was the second best total for the month after May 2007 when 1,652 MLS® units were sold. Year-to-date, MLS® sales are down slightly less than three per cent with 5,253 units sold by the end of May.

While dollar  volume sales were quite impressive, Clare said equally impressive was the increase in housing inventory on the market.

“Buyers will have more to choose from with the increase in inventory,” she said. 

During April and May, over 4,000 new listings appeared on MLS®. Active listings on the market are up 19 per cent for the year.

“Over just the 24-hour period of June 2, there were an additional 230 new listings entered on MLS®,” she added.

The $160,000 to $199,999 price range was the most active segment of the residential-detached market, accounting for 19 per cent, or 232, home sales in May. The over $300,000 price range followed, accounting for  215 sales, or an 18 per cent share of the housing market.

The average time spent on the market  until sold for a residential-detached MLS® listing in May was 20 days — two days quicker than the previous month. On average, condominiums spent just three weeks on the market in May before being sold.