WINNIPEG The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted many areas of everyday life, and the housing market is no exception. With many people working from home, buyers are looking for extra space to get work done. The Manitoba Real Estate Association commissioned a public survey through Probe Research of 1,000 random Manitobans to see how the pandemic has changed what they look for in a home. Research shows almost half of Manitoba residents wanted a dedicated space to exercise. Extra space for a home office is a higher priority now for 44% of Manitobans, and almost one in four Manitobans said having a property with a yard is now a much higher priority.
Winnipeg Free Press
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Peter Squire, vice-president of market intelligence at WinnipegREALTORS, sees sales success continuing in the new year.
‘2020 was a banner year for business.”
‘2020 was a banner year for business.
That’s a perplexing statement for anyone to make, given the havoc throughout Canada’s economic landscape thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. But there’s one industry that won’t tell you anything otherwise.
Even amid unparalleled lockdowns, extraordinary restrictions and hard-hitting job losses, the local real estate market is seeing its biggest boom in decades.
Across the country, from one month to the next, residential sales continue to break records upon records with demand so intense, it’s driving home prices higher than ever before and resulting in historic shortages to inventory.
Posted: Dec 16, 2020 1:39 PM CT | Last Updated: December 17, 2020
Manitoba Real Estate Association says 2020 has been a record year with over 15,000 home sales. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)
Despite financial impacts of COVID-19, Manitoba home sales hit record numbers with upward of 15,000 properties sold in 2020, according to a Manitoba Real Estate Association (MREA) release on Wednesday.
The current 2020 year-to-date sales have hit $4.81 billion, surpassing the overall sales record set at the end of 2019 of $4.27 billion. Year-to-date individual sales have also increased 13 per cent over the same period last year, and have reached 15,818 homes sold. It s been a banner year for residential real estate in Manitoba, said MREA President Glen Tosh. Despite COVID-19 and to the surprise of many, home buyer demand has remained high as Manitobans are seeking additional living space to help weather the pandemic, he said.
Brandon Sun By: Colin Slark
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It has been a difficult year for many industries, but that doesn’t include Manitoba’s real estate sector.
Home sales figures actually improved in 2020 compared to 2019, according to stats released by the Manitoba Real Estate Association on Wednesday.
Glen Tosh, president of the Manitoba Real Estate Association, stands next to a sold sign in Brandon in July. Home sales figures improved in 2020 compared to 2019, according to figures released by the Manitoba Real Estate Association on Wednesday. (File)
Last year, there was $4.27 billion worth of home sales. This year isn’t even over yet, but $4.81 billion worth of homes have been sold so far in 2020.
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Peter Squire, vice-president of external relations and market intelligence at WinnipegREALTORS, says the value of home ownership has increased as a result of ‘stay home’ messaging throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
It might not be the record expected to be smashed amid a global pandemic, but business has never looked better for the local real estate market.
It might not be the record expected to be smashed amid a global pandemic, but business has never looked better for the local real estate market.
For the first time, more than 15,000 residential properties have been sold in the province in a single year, the Manitoba Real Estate Association announced Wednesday. On top of that, forecasts this week from Royal LePage and WinnipegREALTORS show demand has been so significant in late 2020 that it’s driving home prices higher than ever before.