With one month remaining, the Winnipeg real estate market has already surpassed its best annual performance.
By the end of November, MLS® sales beat last year’s record of over 12,300 sales and a dollar volume of $1.87 billion. Actually, the first $2-billion year in WinnipegREALTORS® 104-year history was reached this year in early November.
“And remember, it was only in 2002 that MLS® sales reached $1 billion for the first time,” said WinnipegREALTORS® Association president Wes Schollenberg.
The WinnipegREALTORS® Association is predicting that the strong housing market will result in 13,000 sales by year-end.
Contributing to the best-ever activity was another record month of sales and dollar volume activity in November, including a $1.9-million home sale. So far this year, there have been five $1-million-plus residential-detached home sales with one condominium along the Assiniboine River recently selling for $1.25 million.
“This outstanding year of MLS® sales activity, which over 1,300 local REALTORS® have enabled, should clearly be acknowledged as one of the major business highlights of 2007,” said Schollenberg.
“The record level activity has tremendous economic spin-offs for the local economy and numerous ancillary real estate-related businesses benefit,” he added. “A conservative estimate of additional economic activity based on our MLS® sales this year is around $300 million.”
Nearly half of the entire MLS® inventory left over from October was sold and an equivalent number of sales matched the new listings entered for November. In a number of MLS® areas throughout the city, it was common to have more sales than new listings. Four out of every five listings entered on MLS® this year have sold.
Over 40 per cent of residential-detached listings sold for above list price.
November MLS® sales are up seven per cent to 880 units, while dollar volume increased by 21 per cent to $154.9 million when compared to the same month last year.
Year-to-date MLS® sales are running over seven per cent ahead of the pace set during the same period last year. Sales at the end of November had reached 12,568 units.
Year-to-date MLS® dollar volume was up 21 per cent to $2.14 billion.
“While our REALTOR® members have been challenged throughout the entire year by unprecedented buyer demand for a limited supply of MLS® listings in many neighbourhoods,” said Schollenberg, “there is no question in my mind they have really stepped up and applied their knowledge of the market to help buyers and sellers meet their real estate needs.”
Residential-detached sales in November were highest in the $160,000 to $199,999 price range which accounted for 23 per cent of total sales, followed by the $130,000 to $159,999 price range at 15 per cent.
In contrast, 35 per cent of all condominiums in November sold for over $210,000.
Schollenberg said sales in the higher price range were partially due to new up-scale projects having a dramatic impact on the condominium market.