Trust in the real estate market appears to be high yet again, following months of uncertainty amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
A survey released by the Manitoba Real Estate Association reveals that nine out of 10 Manitobans say the pandemic has not affected their homebuying plans.
“Pre-numbers for June are really high in Brandon and Winnipeg, with significant increases over June of 2019. From a housing perspective, we’re back to pretty close to businesses as usual,” says Glen Tosh, president of the Real Estate Association.
Tosh says fewer homes are currently on the market compared to other years, and that March kicked off an eight-week period during which “practically no sales occurred”.
“We actually have seen a little bit of that, that there isn’t as many homes on the market as maybe other times so there has been some competition, multiple bids in certain ranges.”
Bryan Masse, a realtor with Royal LePage based in south Winnipeg, says one of the reasons for added competition this year as opposed to others is added skepticism due to COVID-19.
“There’s still a lot of sellers who are scared to put their homes on the market because they’re worried about people coming through, but there’s lots of younger buyers that have no fear whatsoever as far as getting COVID, so they’re still out there buying,” says Masse.
Bryan Masse, a realtor with Royal LePage based in south Winnipeg, says one of the reasons for added competition this year as opposed to others is added skepticism due to COVID-19.
“There’s still a lot of sellers who are scared to put their homes on the market because they’re worried about people coming through, but there’s lots of younger buyers that have no fear whatsoever as far as getting COVID, so they’re still out there buying,” says Masse.
He say in terms of house prices, the market hasn’t slowed down at all.
“In Winnipeg we always see just a very steady incline of house prices. They’re always on the rise, and COVID hasn’t really affected that whatsoever, it’s not like we’ve seen a drastic drop off in prices. If anything, the prices have actually increased,”
The survey also included that nearly six in 10 Manitoba homeowners are confident that if they sold their home right now, they would be able to get the same price they would have expected prior to the pandemic.