Winnipeg real estate market breaks three records in third quarter of 2021

A house with a sold sign in Winnipeg is pictured on August 11, 2020. (File Image: Scott Andersson/CTV News Winnipeg)

Winnipeg -

The Winnipeg real estate sector wrapped up another strong quarter, falling short of September 2020 sales figures, but still managing to break three annual records.

The Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board (WRREB) said the year-to-date dollar volume of just under $5 billion surpasses the 2020 annual dollar volume of $4.9 billion.

Meanwhile, the 2,014 condominium sales for the first nine months of 2021 breaks the record of 1,847 set last year, and 1,081 sales of residential-attached properties are slightly ahead of the 2020 sales record of 1,060.

Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board President Kourosh Doustshenas said in a news release a combination of increased sales and higher prices lead to the strong showing.

“As for condominiums, the growing spread between single-family detached homes and condominium average sale prices in 2021 have made the latter property type an even more affordable option for buyers, especially first-time buyers who do not have the benefit of equity gains from the sale of their existing home. Moreover, residential-attached properties offer another affordable option,” he said.

The board noted the 1,501 sales recorded in September dropped 15 per cent from September 2020, but gained 16 per cent over the previous five-year average for this month.

While some property types, like single-family detached homes and vacant land, were unable to keep pace with red-hot 2020 numbers, condos, duplexes, and commercial land all made gains compared to the same quarter in 2020. Duplexes, for example, nearly doubled in sales from last year, with 81 in 2021 compared to 48 in 2020.

The WRREB also noted the current supply listing was down 28 per cent at the end of September compared to this time last year. New or current listings were down 16 per cent from 2020, and 19 per cent from 2019.

“A number of Winnipeg neighbourhoods did not meet the unrelenting demand for single-family properties,” Doustshenas explained.

The board pointed to Whyte Ridge as an example, where there were 12 sales in September and only one listing in October. Meanwhile, River Park South in southeast Winnipeg had 23 sales, leaving only three listings for sale in October.