Manitoba real estate market seeing declines after surge during pandemic

The Manitoba housing market is experiencing a decrease in the number of homes sold in April 2022 compared to years past.

Peak levels from total sales are down over 27 per cent compared to April 2021.

Stewart Elston, former president of the Manitoba Real Estate Association, said a shortage of properties for sale is one of the main reasons for the decline.

“Right now, we’re sitting in a situation where, if we’re lucky, we have a month and a half’s supply of listings on the market relative to our sales that are going to be coming in the next month,” he said.

Warren Neufeld, president of the Brandon Area Real Estate Board, said there’s more power on the seller’s side, but buyer’s have some options as well.

“Sellers still have a lot of power, so if they’re thinking of selling, now’s the time,” he said. “For buyers, work with your banks or your mortgage broker or whoever, lock in your rates. If you can get a locked-in rate for the next 30, 60, or 90 days, that certainly takes some of the guess work out of what your interest rates are going to do if you do decide to purchase.”

This past April, 1,565 properties changed hands, down 27.2 per cent from the year before. Total sales in that same time frame amounted to $604.7 million, also down 16.2 per cent compared to 2021.