Million-dollar-plus home sales provide boost toward $2-billion total

August was another month of record-breaking MLS® dollar volume sales, which was aided by the sale of a newly-built home in Waverley West for $1.29 million, according to statistics recently released by WinnipegREALTORS®.

The Waverley West home was actually the eighth million-dollar-plus MLS® sale for the year by the end of August, and there are currently 18 such listings — 16 homes and two condos — on the market. The highest list price is for a Wellington Crescent home at $2.8 million.

A new record was established with nine such sales this year, but the last sale of a million-dollar-plus condo came in September and was not counted in the August statistics. 

In August, dollar volume sales hit a new record for the month of $231 million, despite overall MLS® sales falling by 17 units from August 2008’s 1,168.

“August 2009 looked very much like August 2008 and that’s just fine with me,” said WinnipegREALTORS® president Deborah Goodfellow.

“Both months rank among the best for this time of year and indicate Winnipeg’s real estate market is on a solid footing with buyers confident in moving forward with their purchasing decisions.

“Helping the local market along is that Manitoba is faring better than most other provinces in employment and GDP (gross domestic product) growth.”

The recently-released Laurentian Bank Provincial Monitor report forecasts Manitoba’s economy will grow by 0.3 per cent this year, compared to predicted declines in all other provinces from 0.2 to 3.9 per cent.

It is expected that 2009 will be the third consecutive year of over $2 billion in MLS® sales, according to WinnipegREALTORS®. At the end of August, total sales stood at $1.75 billion, and there are still four months remaining in the year.

“The market is improving as the year goes along,” said WinnipegREALTORS® residential market analyst Peter Squire.

Year-to-date MLS® listings stood at 3,000 by the end of August.

“Maintaining a relatively healthy inventory with 3,000 MLS® listings is ensuring a more balanced market with price stability and moderation,” said Goodfellow.

“With more summer-like weather in September, it certainly will put buyers in a better mood to check out listings on the market.”

During August, the most active residential-detached home price ranges were between $150,000 and $199,999 and between $200,000 and $249,999, which respectively accounted for 24 per cent and 22 per cent of all sales.

Thirty-four per cent of condos sold in the price range between $100,000 and $149,999 with another 20 per cent of sales in the $150,000 to $199,999 range.