Winnipegs Housing Market Remains Strong In July
BACK TO BACK RECORD MONTHS
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JULY SALES UP 13%, DOLLAR VOLUME JUMPS 24%
A hot month of MLS® sales activity led to a new WinnipegREALTORS® July sales and dollar volume record. It follows on the heels of the best June result in the Association’s 105-year history. Sales for the first time in July went over 1,400 and dollar volume closed in on $270 million, which puts July as a month in the top six months ever for dollar volume. May, 2008 was the highest ever at $319 million. Most encouraging is the surge in new listings as they were up 33% in July over the same month last year. Year- to-date dollar volume surpassed the $1.6 billion mark.
As a result of the healthy increase in new listings, the current inventory is the highest it has been in a number of years with over 2,900 MLS® listings available for sale.
July MLS® unit sales of 1,407 and a dollar volume of over $269 million, make this month the best July on record. July sales were up 13% (1,407/1,250) while dollar volume shot up 24% ($269.1 million/$216.6 million) in comparison to the same month last year.
July’s activity adds to the record year that is being crafted in Winnipeg. Year-to-date MLS® sales are almost dead-even with last year (8,224 / 8,204) while dollar volume is up 15% ($1.6 billion / $1.4 billion). Listings entered on the MLS® this year are up 9 %.
“With a notable improvement in the inventory situation, especially in comparison to the beginning of the year when the MLS® cupboard was rather bare, it is encouraging to see Winnipeg’s MLS ® market move towards a balanced situation,” said Darlene Clare, president of the WinnipgREALTORS® Association. “It is probably about time there is a more level playing field for buyers as this has not been the case for a few years now.”
Clare added, “Winnipeg’s solid economic fundamentals continue to support consumer confidence and validate WinnipegREALTORS®’ 2008 forecast for another very strong year of MLS® real estate activity.”
For residential-detached sales, the most active price range was from $160,000 to $199,999 with 24% of total sales. There were only 10% of sales under $100,000 and 13% over $300,000. The highest sale price was $990,000. The lowest price was only $10,000.
The average days on market for sales of MLS® residential-detached listings was 25 days, six days off the quick pace set last month, and one day slower than July 2007.