WINNIPEG – The unseasonably cold weather has chilled Winnipeg’s housing market.
“Certainly this year was slower due to it not being as nice outside,” said Allan Asplin, a real estate agent with the Judy Lindsay Team.
Asplin isn’t the only agent experiencing a slow down.
The WinnipegREALTORS Association said 294 fewer homes were sold in March compared to the same month last year.
The decrease isn’t because of a lack of homes. By the end of March listings were up 4 per cent.
“We have a lot of built up demand from buyers who went out looking throughout March, haven’t found anything yet or they put offers in on houses and didn’t get them accepted,” said Asplin.
On top of the weather, real estate experts said recent changes to mortgage rules pushed lower income earners out of the house-buying market. A high land transfer tax is also scaring away buyers.
“It is going to a more balanced market,” said Richard Dettman, president of the WinnipegREALTORS Association. “This is not the floor dropping out.”
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