The story seems to be on repeat: record-breaking prices across the Canadian housing market. From coast to coast, unit sales, sales volume and prices have been setting records practically every month. While some markets remain well below the national average in terms of average property prices, they are still increasing at the quickest pace on record. Namely, Canada’s prairie provinces have seen astronomical growth in both price and demand. This phenomenon is largely driven by pandemic-influenced shifts in homebuyer preferences; homebuyers are setting their sights upon more sparsely populated destinations promising more affordability, square footage and green space than in other real estate markets, such as Quebec and Ontario. In line with this shift, the Winnipeg housing market is booming and shows no sign of slowing up.
Winnipeg Housing Market Closing Out a Strong Summer
After a record-setting start to the summer, July 2021 proved to be just as strong – even though sales dipped slightly month-over-month. The month saw 1,678 residential home sales, a 12-per-cent decrease compared to July 2020. However, sales for the month were seven per cent higher than the five-year average for the month.
A strong July helped push the year-to-date sales into record territory with 11,797 transactions taking place in the first seven months of the year in the Winnipeg real estate market. Not only is this 36 per cent higher than the same period in 2020, but it is a notable 43 per cent above the numbers posted in the first seven months of 2019. Taking note of this contrast between the activity in the month of July and the year-to-date values, Kourosh Doustshenas, president of the Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board, adds, “If you look at 2021 as a full year marathon, not shorter runs such as weekly or monthly periods of time, the blistering pace set earlier in the year (e.g. over 2,000 sales in April and May) has evidence of slowing down. Sales are still well on pace to finish the year in record fashion.”
While sales declined from June to July, houses have been quickly flying off the market across Winnipeg. In fact, the residential detached homes that were sold during July, spent on average 17 days on the market. Doustshenas notes that rapid turnover is allowing sellers to get the best out of the market. “We are seeing rapid turnover of our inventory with 57 per cent of all of MLS® listings turning over along with 91 per cent of residential-detached in July. This bodes well for those owners listing their property for sale.”
Quick turnover has allowed prices to rise across all property types in the Winnipeg housing market. Condominiums sold for an average of $258,770 during July, and residential-attached properties averaged a sale price of $321,333, which is also the highest average price on a monthly basis in history. Adding to this phenomenal performance in terms of prices, duplexes saw numerous sales, uncharacteristically, over $500,000. Steep price increases have allowed the sales volume to increase 38 per cent year-over-year, to nearly $40 million in the month of July.
What to Expect in the Winnipeg Real Estate Market
The real estate market in Manitoba’s largest city has been on fire over the last year and a half, and the question remains as to how long Winnipeg can maintain this fierce momentum. More recently, the entire province of Manitoba has seen a slight dip in unit sales over the summer months of July and August. Stewart Elston, President of the Winnipeg Real Estate Association urges prospective sellers to put their house on the market as now is the best time to do so. “As steady buyer demand is preventing inventory on the market from replenishing to pre-COVID-19 levels, it remains an opportune time in the market for Manitobans who are considering listing their home.”
Many industry observers suggest that average property prices within the Winnipeg real estate market will remain fairly consistent as 2021 draws to a close. With interest rates still down, now is both the perfect time to list your home or buy a new home in this affordable urban market, particularly as other markets across the Canadian landscape remain inaccessible to many hopeful homebuyers.
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