It was a November to remember,
according to WinnipegREALTORS® president Deborah Goodfellow, due to a 28 per cent jump in MLS® sales and a dollar volume sales increase of 42 per cent.
By the end of November last year, MLS® sales stood at 656 units, but in the same month this year there were 837 units sold, while dollar volume climbed from $116.3 million to $166.3 million.
The dollar volume figure was the best ever in the 106-year history of WinnipegREALTORS®. The sales’ total was the second highest on record for the month, with only November 2007 having a better total, although by just 43 units.
Year-to-date, dollar volume is ahead of last year’s record-setting pace by nearly one per cent. By the end of
November 2008, there were $2.33
billion in MLS® sales recorded by
WinnipegREALTORS®.
“It has set the stage for our highest MLS® dollar volume on record,” said Goodfellow.
Last year, dollar volume totalled $2.42 billion, which is the existing record for transactions through the local Multiple Listing System®.
Goodfellow said the 69-per-cent year-to-date conversion of MLS® listings to sales has been a marked improvement over the 51 per cent at the start of the year.
In November, 35 per cent of homes sold above list price, with REALTORS® reporting many multiple offer situations.
The strong sales in November reduced the available MLS® listings on the market by one-third.
Goodfellow said it is encouraging to see sales and dollar volume surge back from the beginning of the year.
Yet, she added, Winnipeg didn’t experience the same dramatic decline as other Canadian markets experienced, which translated into a bigger rebound when the other markets picked up from 2008 in the later half of this year.
Goodfellow said the Winnipeg market traditionally does not experience the booms and busts of other markets, but maintains a steady and consistent home sales pace.
She attributed the climb in MLS® sales in November to mild and dry weather keeping traffic heavy at MLS® listed homes, as well as a strong economy with an unemployment rate reduced from 5.8 per cent to 5.3 per cent, which is the second lowest in the nation, surpassed only by Saskatchewan’s unemployment rate of 5.2 per cent.
“Another positive sign in November is new MLS® listings being up for this time of year,” she added. “This is an indication REALTORS® are getting the message out that there are plenty of buyers entering the market and willing to make an offer on the right home.”
For residential-detached home sales in November, the two most active price ranges were between $150,000 and $199,000 and $200,000 and $249,999, with each accounting for 23 per cent of all transactions.
At 19 per cent, the next busiest price range was between $100,000 and $149,999.
The diversity of Winnipeg’s real estate market was shown by one home selling for $1.1 million in November and another MLS® property going for a mere $3,500.