Liz Taylor

June sales of 1,943 edged out last June’s sales of just under 1,900 by 2% and are up 14% over the 5-year average for this month. Dollar volume of $677.5 million jumped 16% over June 2020. New listings coming on to the market in June were down 12% at 2,373, while current inventory of 2,791 at month end decreased 39% from 2020.

“Sales are coming down off their peak in April 2021, and more closely aligned with 2020. June 2020 was the first month when sales rebounded strongly after the pandemic economic shutdown,” said Kourosh Doustshenas, 2021 president of the Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board. “2021 dollar volume gains remain in the double-digits and represent strong upward price movement compared to 2020.”

Year-to-date sales of 10,131, for the first half of 2021, increased 49% over the same period in 2020 and 35% over the 5-year average. Dollar volume of $3.4 billion has risen 68%. A remarkable 78% of all listings entered on the Multiple Listing Service® this year have been sold compared to 54% in 2020.

“A true hallmark of this year has been the unprecedented buyer demand for all property type listings with major percentage gains in sales from 2020,” said Doustshenas. 

This surge in demand has created seller’s market conditions resulting in price escalation in property types such as single family homes where supply has seen a record number of buyers participating in the market.

The average residential-detached or single family home sales price for the first six months of 2021 is $381,053, a 16% increase over last year. 

 For the first time in the history of monthly MLS® sales, the Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board’s April sales tipped over the 2,000 threshold. The 2,055 sales in April edged out last month’s sales of 1,975 and are up 53% over the 5-year average for this month. Dollar volume set a new record monthly high as well in April with $678.3 million transacted in sales — a 65% rise over this month’s 5-year average.

The 2,615 listings remaining at month end are down 41% from the same time last year despite a dramatic fall off in new listings entered in April 2020 due to the pandemic economic shutdown. The good news is that year-to-date cumulative listings of 8,066 represent a 10% increase over 2020 and are less than 1% behind those entered in 2019.

In April, 78% of active MLS® listing supply turned over — and for single-family homes it was an astounding 131% — leaving less than a month’s listing supply going into May.

There were a number of MLS® areas throughout the entire Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board’s market region where there are as many single-family home sales or more than the number of listings remaining at the end of April. River Park South had 31 sales with only 5 listings left for sale while St. James also had 31 sales with only 10 listings available for sale at the end of April.

Two MLS® areas in the first four months have had more sales than new listings entered this year. Transcona MLS® area has 82 sales versus 81 listings while the RM of Ste. Anne has 47 sales — 6 more than what has been listed in 2021.

“Rapid sales are depleting our listings quicker than we can replace them,” said Kourosh Doustshenas, president of the Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board. “Our average continuous days on market for single-family home sales in April was three weeks and for sales from $350,000 to $399,999 it was just 2 weeks.”

Year-to-date MLS® sales after 4 months are 6,197, a 76% gain over the same period in 2020 while dollar volume of $2.0 billion increased 96% compared to 2020. The conversion of listings to sales is another metric indicating a supercharged market with 77% of all listings being sold. In the previous 5 years, this percentage has never attained 50% and you have to go back to 2004 and 2005 when the conversion percentage was as high as it is this year.

“Clearly, 2021 is a year like no other with buyers actively engaged in our regional market to place offers on many different property types and a wide spectrum of price ranges,” said Doustshenas. “Condominiums have seen the biggest gain thus far with a 115% increase in sales over the same period last year.”

March 2021 set a new all-time monthly record for MLS® sales and dollar volume. Sales of 1,975 rose 80% over March 2020 and 60% over the 5-year monthly average for this month. Dollar volume took off as well with $663.9 million transacted — a 98% increase over the same month last year.

Brisk sales activity left listing supply down 42% from 2020 with 2,597 listings available for sale going into April. However, an encouraging sign is the fact new listings coming on the market in March recorded a 14% rise to 2,483 listings. They are also up 11% over the 5-year average.

A clear indicator of how firmly entrenched the Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board (WRREB) is in a seller’s market is that the equivalent of 76% of all active listings — or current inventory — sold in March. This compares to a more typical conversion of 24% as was the case in 2020.

“Sales percentage increases are well distributed among all property types with a number of them, including condominiums, showing triple-digit growth over last year,” said Kourosh Doustshenas, president of the Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board. “They make single-family homes’ gain appear modest at 56%.”

Yesterday I posted a poll on my Instagram Stories ... it was the first poll I'd ever posted (and it was a LOT easier to do than I'd expected), and I got a GREAT response.

It was a simple question: What would you choose - Granite or Quartz?

As the results trickled in, most people chose Quartz.

Beyond the esthetics - do you know the differences between Granite and Quartz?

Quartz is actually human-made.  It's produced by combining crushed quartz with resin.  This allows a wider range of colours than you'll find in Granite (which is 100% produced by Mother Nature).  This also makes Quartz less of a "green product" than Granite, as it produces more carbon emissions during the manufacturing process.

Quartz is a bit more flexible, and has no striations (as are found in Granite), so it's less likely to chip or crack.  

The resin used in the production of Quartz countertops makes it less porous and more resistant to stains than Granite.  Quartz is virtually zero-maintenance, while Granite needs to be sealed occasionally to keep it fron staining.

The same resin, however, creates some disadvantages to Quartz countertops in comparison to Granite.

The resin used to bind the Quartz can cause discolouration, especially when exposed to sunlight.  For an outdoor application, Granite is the winner - hands down.  

The resin also causes less thermal resistance.  You can easily put a hot pot or pan on a Granite countertop - not so much with Quartz.  Although Quartz countertops can handle some heat, the resin isn't stable with high temperatures and applying too much heat can cause damage.

You can often find large slabs of Granite, which is great if you want to use it for an island application - you're less likely to end up with a seam, and the same can't be said for Quartz.

Quartz also tends to be more expensive than Granite.  Quartz runs around $70-$100 per square foot, while Granite can run anywhere from $50-$175 per square foot (the higher range being of more exotic varieties).

When it comes down to it, it's mostly personal preferance.  Quartz countertops tend to be more uniform in colour and pattern than Granite, so if you like the clean, sleek look in your kitchen, you may very well gravitate towards them.

If you like a more natural, textured look (which is what I gravitate towards), Granite might be the best option for you!

If a kitchen renovation is in your future, I'd love to hear from you and find out what you're chosing for your countertops.  I've also got some GREAT contacts as far as sourcing both Quartz AND Granite, and would love to share them with you!