The Market Has Made it Through the Rapids and into Calm Waters (*for now)
With the new data released from WinnipegREALTORS it is safe to say the Manitoba real estate market as a whole has bounced back. In fact, for the first time ever in Manitoba history, the market showed two consecutive months of best ever total sales. Although this record was achieved by a very tight margin, it is encouraging to see during such choppy times.
Coordinates are Set to the Countryside
There seems to be a lot of promise in many rural areas around the major cities in Manitoba. The June edition of the Canadian Press suggests that some of the increase in rural activity is due to urban goers finding more space for the (almost inevitable) fall quarantine, suggesting this maybe a short term phenomena.[i] However, It is worth noting that prior to the pandemic, at the WinnipegREALTORS annual forecast breakfast in January, it was announced that rural area’s had seen a strong growth in 2019.
What’s the Deal with Supply?
It’s a proverb as old as time; people want what they cannot have. To date, the Manitoba market has seen a 27% decrease in single family home inventory compared to this time last year. One reason being floated for the above average sales’ is the lack of supply in the market. Less inventory suggest that people are reluctant to sell their homes resulting in buyers having less to choose from and forcing multiple bidding situations. This lack of inventory may also be temporarily influencing value of properties. Not only is dollar volume up significantly from last year but the average price of a single family home has just risen to $353,000.
Where will this River flow?
One thing COVID has trained us to do is adapt to rapidly changing situations. It is difficult to say what the market will look like in a week let alone 3 months. What is encouraging though is how adaptable Manitoba has been and how cooperative we are to measure put in place for our safety. It is undisputed that, providing we keep up social distancing measures and PPE, we have a strong likelihood of getting through this with minimal economic impact.
