What’s under the Microscope?
With pin point accuracy, COVID 19 has illuminated who are the winners with the shifting market. All in all, it is unquestionably a sellers’ market, especially with properties valued between the $300,000 to $350,000 range (slightly higher than the average house price in Winnipeg). These particular houses have witnessed a 57% increase in demand compared to this time last year. Furthermore, new listings on the market are down since COVID-19 hit, meaning, demand has increased and supply has decreased. According to Winnipeg Realtor data, this situation has skyrocketed occurrences of multiple bidding wars in the residential market.
What does this mean for Property Values?
It is important to note that this high demand situation seems to be across the board in almost all price ranges and types of residences including condos and townhouses; however, single detached houses and vacant land have seen the biggest gains. Overall, when comparing dollar volume this year to last, there is an increase in purchasing of more than $300 million dollars. Vacant land in particular has seen a significant increase in August, suggesting many people are planning on building since listings are just not available. All of this points to average price of houses on the rise!
Proceed with Caution!
CBC news released an article recently that stated Canadian debt loads are down and savings are up, which, when paired with increased house values seems like great news! However, economists are predicting a delinquency tsunami once the government stops CERB and FI’s put an end to deferral payments. There are indications this tsunami is happening soon, with some economists predicting as early as November.
Take Away
The jury is still out on whether this four month trend of high demand, low supply and increased bidding wars will continue or if we may see a sharp decline. For now however, from an economical point of view, Manitoba is riding high.
