Region expecting brisk sales activity and an uptick in prices during spring market

WINNIPEG, April 4, 2019 /CNW/ - According to the Royal LePage House Price Survey1 released today, the aggregate price of a home in Winnipeg saw a moderate increase in the first quarter of 2019, rising 3.4 per cent year-over-year to $296,853.

The median price of a two-storey home increased 6.6 per cent year-over-year to $320,196 and the median price of a bungalow increased 2.0 per cent year-over-year to $287,132 during the same period. Meanwhile, the median price of a condominium decreased 9.3 per cent year-over-year to $224,967.

"Winnipeg is having a moment in the spotlight," said Michael Froese, managing partner, Royal LePage Prime Real Estate. "Winnipeg is recognized as a great place to live and work. We are seeing new businesses flourish and an expanding tourism sector. The region's brisk economic activity is supportive of a healthy real estate market."

On a quarter-over-quarter basis, the aggregate price of a home in Winnipeg is expected to appreciate 0.7 per cent to $299,074 in the second quarter of 2019.

"Inventory levels are moderately up but now sales have pulled even with inventory after record-breaking cold temperatures in February kept buyers away from the market," said Froese. "The Winnipeg real estate market will continue to tighten into spring as sales return to normal spring activity now that buyers have adjusted to the OSFI mortgage stress test measures introduced in January 2018."

Nationally, year-over-year home prices showed moderate gains in many regions across Canada in the first quarter of 2019. The Royal LePage National House Price Composite, compiled from proprietary property data in 63 of the nation's largest real estate markets, showed that the price of a home in Canada increased just 2.7 per cent year-over-year to $621,575 in the first quarter of 2019, well below the long-term norm of approximately 5 per cent. When broken out by housing type, the median price of a two-storey home rose 2.6 per cent year-over-year to $729,553, while the median price of a bungalow rose 1.1 per cent year-over-year to $513,497. Condominiums remained the fastest growing housing type on a national basis, rising 5.4 per cent year-over-year to $447,260.

"We are expecting this to be a sluggish year overall in Canada's residential real estate market, with the hangover from the 2018 market correction and weaker economic growth acting as a drag on home price appreciation, balanced by lower for longer interest rates," said Phil Soper, president and CEO, Royal LePage. "There is a silver lining here. This slowdown gives buyers, and first-time buyers in particular, an opportunity to buy real estate in our country's largest cities."

Source: Royal LePage Real Estate Services

Winnipeg's real estate market has shown strong growth so far this year compared with the sluggish beginning of 2018, according to data released by Winnipeg Realtors.

While 2018 got off to a slow start for the city’s real estate industry, both January and February this year have posted strong sales numbers, leading industry players to think historically low mortgage rates have set the stage for a market recovery.

"We have now had two back to back months of improvement in sales and listing gains over 2018. While early in the year, and a cold one at that, it does show buyers are making necessary adjustments to mortgage regulation rules to complete a transaction," Kenneth Clark, president of Winnipeg Realtors, said in a written statement.

"Some of the increase in listings, most notable in January with a 19 per cent increase in new listings coming on the market, is that sellers are feeling more confident about taking their next step in the local housing market."

In February, there were 724 sales in the city, a six per cent increase over the same month in 2018. That represents a 10 per cent increase in dollar volume at more than $215 million.

Last month, 1,447 new listings were added to the market, bringing the number of active listings in the city up to 3,735. That marks a 10 per cent increase in the number of listings over February 2018.

Year-to-date sales are also up eight per cent over last year and three per cent over the five-year average.

Winnipeg’s market shows signs of remaining affordable despite skyrocketing real estate prices in other major Canadian municipalities, such as Toronto and Vancouver. Half of all condominium sales in February went for less than $200,000, while roughly half of all single-family homes were sold for less than $300,000.

"The combination of a wide choice of affordable properties to purchase in our local market gives us an advantage over more expensive housing markets in the country," Clark said.

Source: https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/business/market-starts-2019-with-a-bang-506967812.html