A sold sign is pictured outside a home in Vancouver, B.C., Tuesday, June 28, 2016. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward)
WINNIPEG — The real estate market slightly cooled in March, but the Manitoba Real Estate Association says sales are still going strong.
Home sales last month came in just shy of the record-breaking month one year ago, but activity remains at an elevated level.
“A number of factors are at play in the market,” says MREA 2021-22 president Stewart Elston.
“Low inventory levels have spurred competition among buyers pushing sale prices to new heights. Meanwhile, interest rate hikes are increasing the cost of borrowing but a countervailing effect on buyer demand may not be readily apparent as supply remains incredibly tight.”
During March, 1,519 residential properties traded hands with total sales of $578.3 million, down 24.7 percent and 15.3 percent respectively from the record tallies set in March 2021. 1,950 new listings are down 23.4 percent year-over-year and the average sale price of $380,707 is up 12.5 percent to the highest point ever.
According to the MREA, a typical pre-pandemic March in Manitoba would generate around 1,100 home sales. Last March, 2,018 properties sold. Year-to-date listings of 4,391 are down 25 percent from the quarter mark of last year.
“Supply is the critical factor right now,” added Elston. “The last time the province had fewer than 2,000 new listings in March was 2014. Manitoba requires a sustained increase in the supply of homes listed for sale to pull the market back to more balanced territory.”
