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Winnipeg real estate market
Homebuyers in Winnipeg snapped up more upper-end homes than ever before in 2006 -- a year in which the Winnipeg Real Estate Board also recorded its first ever $2-million-plus house sale, according to year-end figures released Friday. The Winnipeg Real Estate Board (WREB) said 529 homes valued at more than $300,000 sold last year through its Multiple Listing Service. That's a whopping 60 per cent increase over the 335 homes that sold in that price range in 2005. And 2005's total was double that of 2004.
This year's total also included seven homes that sold for more than $1 million, and one property -- CanWest Global Communications CEO Leonard Asper's former mansion on Wellington Crescent -- which sold for more than $2 million ($2.025 million, to be exact).
WREB's outgoing president, Walter Boni, said he was surprised to see that many upper-end homes sell in a single year. He also didn't expect to see seven homes sell for more than $1 million.
"There are not a huge number of people that can deal in that ($1-millon-plus) market," Boni said. "But people look at these (homes) as an investment."
"That's a lot of million-dollar homes," said Peter Squire, the WREB's residential market analyst. "But that's a vote of confidence in Winnipeg. When people are willing to shell out those kinds of dollars, they are confident in the value of Winnipeg real estate in general."
The high number of upper-end-home sales helped propel the WREB to another record-setting year in 2006. The board set new benchmarks for both the number of units sold in a single year -- 12,304 -- and the dollar volume of sales for a single year -- $1.87 billion.
It was only the second time in the board's 103-year history that MLS sales topped the 12,000-unit mark. Last year's dollar volume total also easily surpassed the previous record of $1.62 billion set in 2005.
Boni and Squire said it's anyone's guess whether this year's numbers can be topped in 2007.
"I think what we've learned is that we should not be surprised," Squire said, noting a 10 per cent increase in the dollar volume of sales next year would push the dollar total above the $2-billion mark for the first time ever.
"Who would have thought that, when we were feeling fortunate to have reached the $1-billion mark five years ago," he said.
Now that the psychological barrier of a home in Winnipeg selling for more than $1 million has been shattered, Squire said there's no reason to think there won't be more of those big-ticket purchases in 2007.
As for the chances of the board recording another $2-million-plus sale, Squire said CanWest vice-president David Asper has his Wellington Crescent home listed for sale for $2.75 million.
Boni said a number of factors are helping to fuel the demand for high-end homes in Winnipeg. They include a high employment rate in the province, strong consumer confidence and low mortgage rates. He and Squire said the kinds of people buying these higher-priced homes include successful entrepreneurs, high-salaried business executives, dual-income families, and people moving here from more expensive markets like Calgary and Toronto, where $300,000 would be considered a bargain for an upper-end home.
The WREB figures also show the Winnipeg resale-homes market finished 2006 the same way it began -- with another record-breaking month.
Last month was the best December ever in terms of the dollar volume of sales, with $94.7 million worth of properties selling through the board's MLS. It was also the third best December for unit sales, with 593 properties changing hands during the month.
Boni said he expects 2007 to be another strong year for Winnipeg's resale-homes market, although maybe not quite as robust as 2006.
"It will just be a return to more balanced conditions."
He said his one concern is with the small number of homes that are for sale at the moment, even though there was a seven per cent increase in MLS listings in 2006.
Squire confirmed there were only 734 detached residential properties listed on the board's MLS as of the end of December. That's the lowest year-end inventory of listings since December, 2003, when there were 659 such homes for sale.
While that's good news for sellers, Boni said it makes it tough for homebuyers, because they'll have fewer homes to choose from and the nicer properties will likely attract multiple offers and bidding wars among prospective buyers.
"That's exactly what's been going on for the last two years and we had hoped with the increase in new listings (in 2006) that that would subside," he said.
Source: The Winnipeg Real Estate Board
January 7, 2007 in Location, location, location | Permalink
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