Home sales in Winnipeg this November hit new heights in a booming market helped by record-low interest rates put in place by the Bank of Canada in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
WinnipegREALTORS, a professional real estate association, saw 1,193 houses or condos sold in 2020’s 11th month — compared to a previous record of 900.
“November was quite spectacular — we’ve had six consecutive months of record-breaking sales which began in earnest in June and has really never stopped,” said Peter Squire, the association’s vice-president of external relations and market intelligence.
More than 15,000 homes have been sold in total this year, with $5 billion in total sales expected by the end of the year.
Listings and sales dropped in April at the height of the pandemic’s first wave but bounced back in June.
Squire attributes Winnipeg’s booming market to a number of factors: low-interest rates, which the central bank said in October it expects will stay in place until 2023, and increased time spent at home amid the social and economic shutdowns put in place amid the novel coronavirus.
“A lot more people are working from home, and just being at home a lot more… People are looking around and saying you know what, maybe there’s something else we need. It doesn’t have to be a big fancy home, but something different,” Squire said.
November also saw a record 14 homes sell for more than $1 million, Squire said, and saw increased upper market homes sell in the $500,000 to $750,000 range.