New MLS® dollar volume sales record set last year

Although the year started slowly, 2009 ended strong with local MLS® dollar volume sales setting a new record at $2.47 billion, topping last year’s record by two per cent.

“Our MLS® market resiliency shone through in 2009,” said outgoing WinnipegREALTORS® president Deborah Goodfellow, “as it was not without its challenges earlier on in the year.

“Quite remarkably, we finished off in impressive fashion with a best December ever and a new annual dollar volume record.”

December MLS® sales for the first time in the 106-year history of WinnipegREALTORS® topped the 600 level with 619 units sales, which was 23 per cent higher than the same month in 2008. 

The year ended with a total of 12,182 MLS® unit sales, which is the fourth best on record. Of the year’s sales, 9,205 were residential-detached homes.

In December, dollar volume sales soared by 36 per cent over the same month in 2008, ending up with a total of $125.3 million in sales.

The record set for dollar volume last year was partially attributed to a record 14 homes selling for  $1-million-plus. Thirteen of the sales were residential-detached homes, while one was a $1.5-million condominium on Wellington Crescent.

The average sale price of a residential-detached property in December was close to $220,000, which is in sharp contrast to the average for December 2008 of $189,000. By the end of December, the average annual sale price stood at $217,370. The annual average in 2008 was $206,278.

In contrast to the high-end MLS® sales, the lowest was the $3,500 sale of a residential-detached property.

“While there were clearly more pronounced weaknesses this year in some MLS® property-type sales predisposed more to investment than ownership,” said Goodfellow, “the statistics show the two primary residential-detached and condo property-types are more than holding their own in this market.”

Goodfellow said 33 per cent of all MLS® sold for greater than the list price, while 10 per cent sold at list price.

Rural properties represented 22 per cent of all WinnipegREALTORS® MLS® sales last year. The greatest number of sales in any MLS® area occurred in Steinbach, which includes Marchand and La Broquerie, with 404 units sold in 2009. The rural region also had the most listings at 659. As a general rule, Goodfellow said, the 28 rural areas didn’t enjoy the same degree of success in converting listings to sales.

Windsor Park had the distinction of converting more sales than listings, with 111 listings and 113 sales.

The highest average MLS® sale price was Tuxedo at $532,244, while the lowest was 4A in the North End, including Point Douglas, at $67,298.

At close to 12 per cent of all MLS® sales, condominiums had their biggest share of the market in the history of WinnipegREALTORS®. A total of 1,416 condos were sold in 2009.

The most active area in terms of condo sales was Osborne Village, which accounted for 174 sales. The area also had the most listings at 292 units.

The average condo sale price went from $172,742 in 2008 to $185,347 in 2009, which represented a seven per cent increase.

During 2009, 21 per cent of condo sales were above list price, while 19 per cent sold at list price.

Goodfellow said the 2009 MLS® market results make her “optimistic for 2010.”