It was bacon and eggs and house prices on January 27.
Winnipeg Realtors rolled out their annual forecast for 2016 and looked back at the 2015 results.Peter Squire, Director of Public Affairs, said the rising number of listings in recent years has been a “game-changer.” Listings reached 24,603 in 2015.
While dollar volume and the number of residential -detached sales have been relatively steady, the market has been tilting toward buyers. Home prices rose less than 3% and condo prices actually fell 1%. Average days on the market climbed to 33 days for Residential Detached and the percentage of Residential Detached sales above list fell to 16% from 2014’s 25%. For condos, average days on the market approached 50 days.
The 9,599 home sales produced an average sale price of $293,992. The average condo price was $236,204. Total MLS dollar volume surpassed 3.5 billion-another record.
Squire touted Winnipeg’s continuing affordability. 60% of Winnipeg home sales were under $300,000, he said. In Calgary, only 2% were under 300,000. Approximately 80% of Winnipeg condo sales were under the 300,000 mark.
Squire’s projections for 2016 are modest:
2016 MLS Forecast
| Sales Type | Forecast |
| Home Sales | + 1 to 3% |
| Home Prices | +0 to 2% |
| Condo Prices | + 0 to 2% |
| Total MLS Dollar Volume | +1 to 3% |
The 2015 forecast results were tight with the exception of condo sales:
2015 Forecast Scorecard
| Sales Types | Forecast | Actual |
| Home Sales | + 0 to 2% | +2.8% |
| Home Prices | + 0 to 2% | +2% |
| Condo Prices | + 2 to 4% | -1% |
| Total MLS Dollar Volume | + 1 to 3% | +2% |
Commercial Division Chair Stephen Sherlock reported the familiar problem of lack of quality product for Industrial. He saw the possibility of a slight decrease in industrial vacancy and stable retail vacancy.
