July Real Estate Market

Spectacular weather in July which kept ice cream and beer vendors busy did not deter sellers and buyers from remaining engaged in the market after an exceptional June of over 1,500 MLS® sales. While not as active given Winnipeggers’ penchant for taking advantage of a plethora of summer festivals and frequent trips to Manitoba’s diverse cottage country, sales of close to 1,250 were on par with the third best July on record in 2007.  July 2008 is by far the best July ever at over 1,400 sales with the 10-year average for July sitting at 1,200 sales. New listings were ahead of last July too with over 1,700 added in July 2011.

To no ones surprise, given a strong sales performance for this month and higher average sale prices in each successive year, dollar volume once again set a new record for month of July. It still however fell short of the $300 million monthly mark that was substantially eclipsed each of the two previous months. The average selling price in July for a residential-detached home was $254,486 – up nearly 7% compared to the July 2010 average of $238,441.

July MLS® unit sales increased 4% (1,246/1,195) while dollar volume went up 10% ($288.1 million/$261.3 million) in comparison to the same month last year. Year-to-date MLS® sales are up 3% (7,906/7,647) while dollar volume is ahead by just under 8% ($1.84 billion/$1.71 billion) in comparison to the same period last year. The 7% increase in new listings this month over the same month last year translated into an overall 1% increase in year-to-date listings from 2010. As of the end of July, 11, 767 listings have been entered on the MLS® system this year.

“An improvement in new listings in July helped keep prices in check as the monthly average home price of over $254,000 is still under the year-to-date average of $256,000 and there were less above list priced sales too so buyers had a little more breathing room,” said Ralph Fyfe, president of Winnipeg REALTORS®. “However, inventory still remains tight overall, especially in a number of Winnipeg neighbourhoods. So depending on the price range and neighbourhood you are interested in, multiple offers may well be in play. As a result, your best recourse regardless of potential competition for a home you want to buy is to call a REALTOR® to advise you accordingly on your own situation.”

What is really starting to emerge this year and was no more apparent than in July is what was referred in WinnipegREALTORS® 2011 January forecast speech as a ‘flight to affordability’.

“The Winnipeg Jets may be taking off too but in the real estate market the alternative flight path and clearly more affordable offerings of condominiums and single-attached homes in contrast to residential or single-family –detached is as real as a Goog at the BDI,” said Fyfe.

In July, condominium sales were up 23% while single-attached residential properties rose an astounding 76%. Year-to-date numbers are impressive as well. The former are outpacing last year’s sales at this time by 10% while the latter or single-attached are up 16%. Residential-detached property sales have increased less than 3% for the year and just over 1% for July.

The spread between the year-to-date residential-detached average sale price of $256,000 and the average sale price of condominiums and single –attached is $54,000 and $63,000 respectively. Not only are these two alternative property types more affordable, the highest land transfer tax in the country at 2% over $200,000 does not apply at all or very minimally if you were to pay the average price. For every $50,000 in value above $200,000, the provincial government collects $1,000 from the home buyer before they can take title to their new property.

For buyers of residential-detached homes in the southwest and southeast quadrants of Winnipeg where the average sale price this year is above $300,000, this means they are paying at least $2,000 more in land transfer taxes as a result of the 2% land transfer tax rate.

WinnipegREALTORS® is calling on Manitobans at 2muchltt.com to tell the provincial government they need to reduce the unfair burden of the Manitoba land transfer tax on property buyers. Based on what you would have paid for an average priced home in 1987 when this tax was introduced and what you would pay now if you buy an average priced home, land transfer taxes have gone up tenfold.

As has been stated before, the impact of the land transfer tax is more acute with first-time buyers where every after tax dollar they save is critical to going towards the required down payment and closing costs (includes the Manitoba land transfer tax).

For residential-detached sales in July, the most active price range was from $200,000 to $249,999 at 24% of total sales. Second busiest was from $250,000 to $299,999 at 19%. For condominium sales, the most active price range was from $150,000 to $199,999 at 42% with the $100,000 to $149,999 range well back at 22%.

Average days-on-market for residential-detached sales in July was 26 days, 3 days slower than June and 2 days faster than July 2010. For condominiums, the average days-on-market was 27 days, 5 days off the pace set in June and 4 days quicker than July 2010.

“Dear Jack Layton” by Heather Cleland | The Walrus Blog

“Dear Jack Layton” by Heather Cleland | The Walrus Blog

Happy days are here again

Happy days are here again

Here's our living flag from this morning. on Twitpic

Here's our living flag from this morning. on Twitpic

2011 APRIL MLS® SALES MIRROR 2009 - Flood Situation and Effort Impact Sales

 It is no coincidence the 2011 flood in Manitoba affected WinnipegREALTORS® MLS® market as listings were down 15% from April 2010 and much closer to 2009 where we had some major flood issues to deal with like this year. MLS® sales are virtually identical to 2009 and conversions of listings to sales are off in the same way compared to non-flood springs. 

Listings were down significantly in some of the rural municipalities such as St. Clement and St. Andrews and diminished in Winnipeg MLS® areas along the Red River (e.g. St. Vital, Frasers Grove, North End). Even Algonquin Park with Bunns Creek running through it experienced a noticeable new listings decline.

No better example of how April MLS® sales can be impacted by flooding is in 1997 where MLS® sales were only 900 and then bounced back to 1,126 in 1998 and 1,162 in 1999.

As evident from softer sales performances in other major markets across the country, a federal election preoccupying many Canadian’s attention and concerns during the month of April may also have played a factor in reducing market activity.

April MLS® unit sales decreased 13% (1,148/1,317) while dollar volume dropped back 11% ($268.8 million/$303.1 million) in comparison to the same month last year. Year-to-date sales are up 1% (3,681/3,626) while dollar volume has risen 5% ($839.3 million/$797.0 million) in comparison to the same period last year. MLS® listings entered on the MLS® system this year are down 3% (5,870/6,053).

“This April is an atypical spring market month so not withstanding the drop off in sales and listings activity, we think there will be better results in May based on our strong first quarter performance and good market fundamentals remaining in place as we move into our busiest time of year,” said Ralph Fyfe, president of WinnipegREALTORS®. “More evidence of how the flood was a factor this month is the marked difference in residential-detached and condominium sales activity. The latter was up 3% while single family homes decreased 15%.”

“As one of those homeowners along the Red River in St. Vital, I understand first hand how Manitobans put priority over saving their home compared to listing or buying one,” added Fyfe. “I commend the provincial government and the City of Winnipeg for being better prepared than they ever have to help us deal effectively with necessary flood mitigating measures.”

For residential-detached sales in April, the most active price range was from $200,000 to $249,999 at 23% of total sales. The next busiest price range was from $250,000 tom $299,999 at 17%. Conversely, the under $99,999 price range had only 5% of total sales this month and in March.

Average days on market for residential-detached sales was 26 days, 2 days slower than last month and 5 days off the pace set in April 2010.  Average days on market for condominium sales was 34 days, 1 day faster than last month and 11 days slower than April 2010.

Condominium sales were most prevalent in the $150,000 to $199,999 price range with 38% of total sales. Another 20% came from the $100,000 to $149,999 price range.

Making a point — in Point Douglas

Making a point — in Point Douglas

Best first quarter ever for Winnipeg home sales

Winnipeg’s red-hot resale homes market racked up its best March and best first quarter on record this year, according to new Multiple Listing Service (MLS) figures released today.

Winnipeg REALTORS said 1,186 properties were sold last month through its MLS. That was not only a seven-per-cent gain from the 1,110 properties that changed hands in March of last year, but it was the highest March tally in the association’s 108-year history.

1. ARTICLES

   • Holy pricey house, BatmanIt was also the best March for dollar volume of sales, with $274.9 million worth of transactions. That was a 14-per-cent improvement from a year earlier, when $241.1 million worth of properties were sold.

The high level of activity boosted unit sales for the first three months of 2011 to 2,533 — a 10-per-cent improvement from a year earlier — and the dollar volume of sales to $570.5 million — a 15-per-cent gain. Both those were also new first-quarter records.

"The change in the mortgage amortization period from 35 to 30 years in March may have spurred more activity than we initially had predicted," said WR president Ralph Fyfe. "And with mortgage rates starting to inch up a bit lately, those buyers are looking even smarter now for getting a head start on the spring market."