April MLS® Sales Up 8%

 

WINNIPEG - April MLS® sales showed continued strength and momentum from an excellent

first quarter of MLS® sales and dollar volume activity.

April sales surpassed both last April’s total and the April 10-year average by 8%. The 1,373

sales transacted through WinnipegREALTORS®’ MLS® are the highest sales total on record

for the month of April.

Year-to-date sales are also up 8% at over 3,800. This current pace is only outflanked by 2012

while year-to-date dollar volume of over $1 billion has risen nearly 10% over the same period in 2015.

 

Active listing inventory has come off its peak level of over 5,000 in 2015. It now sits at 4,708 in

2016. New listings coming on the market in April were down 10% from the same month last year.

The absorption rate for all MLS® listings going into May if you assume there are no new listings

entered on MLS® is down to three and one-half months.

 

“While there were no major spring storms to deal with, I believe our MLS® market had the perfect

storm when it came to what transpired in April,” said WinnipegREALTORS® president Stewart Elston.

   “We enjoyed a healthy influx of buyers taking advantage of a very competitive market with such

favourable interest rates. At the same time we witnessed a reduction in the number of listings coming

on the market. This resulted in more balanced market conditions in which sellers are feeling more

hopeful with supply starting to level off.”

 

Adding fuel to Elston’s delight with an excellent start to the second quarter was Winnipeg receiving

top billing in the Globe and Mail’s Report on Business recently. It talks about Winnipeg “powering

the engine of one of Canada’s most stable, resilient provincial economies.” The report also indicates

Manitoba “is projected to have the third-highest rate of economic growth this year – 2.2 per cent

according to RBC Economics Research …and to enjoy the lowest unemployment rate in the country,

5.4 per cent, well below the Canadian norm of 7 per cent”. 

 

Some MLS® areas would have welcomed more listings, as sales were brisk, but from an overall

market perspective supply needs to come back more in line with existing demand. Of course, not

all areas, nor property types, share the same outcomes month to month, so you need to be talking

to a REALTOR® about how your particular needs and preferences fit within the existing market.

 

Speaking of property types, the stand out in April and one which has been noted this year already

is condominium. There has been a strong resurgence of condominium sales in comparison to an

underachieving performance in early 2015. Condominium sales increased 34% over April 2015

and are up 21% year-to-date in comparison to the same period last year.

 

“The comeback in condominium sales activity this year is encouraging since there is a significant

inventory of new and resale condominiums on the market presently,” said Elston. “Buyers are waking

up to this fact and availing themselves to some attractive offerings.”

 

While we will look more closely at the various quadrants of Winnipeg and rural municipalities of the WinnipegREALTORS® market region after six months of residential-detached sales activity it is

worth noting for the first time the southwest quadrant had an average residential-detached sales

price of over $400,000. Two of their 194 sales were in excess of $1 million. It is indicative of good

move up activity as the spring market starts to get in full gear.

 

The most active price range for residential-detached sales in April was from $250,000 to $299,999

at 21% of total sales. Closely matched in second place were the $300,000 to $349,999 and the

$200,000 to $249,999 price ranges at 15 and 14% respectively. The highest sales price was

$1,250,000 with the lowest being only $9,500.The average number of days to sell a home in April

was 26 days, 2 days quicker than April 2015.

 

The most active price range for condominiums in April was $150,000 to $199,999 at 34%. The next

busiest price range was from $200,000 to $249,999 at 20%. The highest condominium sales price

was $770,000. The lowest sales price was $56,000. The average number of days to sell a condo was

41 days, 8 days ahead of the pace set in April 2015.