Justin da Rosa
REP
While most eyes are on Toronto and Vancouver, this often overlooked market is quietly putting together one of its best years – and agents are benefitting.
“Our sales are at a record pace this year in Winnipeg; we’re tracking really well for this year,” Peter Squire, director of public affairs with the Winnipeg Realtors Association, told REP. “June was our best June ever. Second-best month ever. The only one to beat that was May 2007 … and 2007 was our best year on record.”
Agents in Winnipeg helped facilitate the sale of 1,638 homes in June, which represented a 9% year-over-year jump.
Those sales were led by single-family homes, which accounted for 1,252 sales. That’s a whopping 76% of total sales.
And while agents may be drawn to some of the hotter markets in a bid to cash in on record-breaking home sale prices, Squire argues Winnipeg-based agents aren’t doing so poorly themselves.
“[Agents] may be able to do better in other markets, but we have a more affordable lifestyle. We are the most affordable average house price in the country of any major centre,” he said. “Single-family homes are coveted everywhere and in the case of Manitoba, Winnipeg, and beyond, single-family homes are a lot closer to reality than an other cities.
“We’re not hitting home runs, but we’re getting on base.”
According to Squire, July is also trending to be a solid month.
And that’s expected to continue, as the strong Manitoba economy is safeguarded from some of the turmoil experienced in other parts of the country.
“Manitoba, we always say, we ignored the recession in 2008 and 2009. We tend to have a stable and diverse economy; not overly exciting but very well diversified which helps it play out any rough spots,” Squire said. “It’s kind of like we’re able to ride out a tough spot in the national economy when it seems like things are difficult. We aren’t so dependent on one industry, such as oil and gas. We have strong manufacturing. It just really helps having a mix.”
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