Manitoba Real Estate Market Update: March 2021


April 19, 2021

March went out like a lion in Winnipeg as a shower of new listings was met by record-breaking sales! With supply running low and buyers moving into higher price ranges, it’s a seller’s market.
The Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board (WRREB) reports 1,975 residential sales in March1 – a record for the month representing an increase of 80% year over year and 59% month over month.2 It’s also 60% above the five-year monthly average.
Whereas many other markets in the country saw enormous year-over-year sales increases this March due to market activity all but stopping mid-way through the month last year, WRREB only started seeing a slow-down in the last week of March 2020.3 Thus, the 80% leap in year-over-year sales is a strong indicator that demand has grown significantly.
New listings also surpassed the five-year average for the month at 2,483 – up 14% from last year and a stunning 50% from February. This helped nudge the number of available homes going into April up to 2,597, which is 42% below last year’s number but 4% more than February’s. Despite this small gain, the high volume of sales bumped the sales-to-new-listings ratio up from 75% last month to a tight 80%, meaning that for every 100 homes added to the market in March, 80 homes sold.
According to WRREB’s latest report, “A clear indicator of how firmly entrenched [the region] is in a seller’s market is that the equivalent of 76% of all active listings — or current inventory — sold in March,” as compared to a “more typical conversion of 24%.”
So much demand with limited supply means prices are going up. For detached homes, prices grew 18% and 7% over the same periods to $384,773; for attached homes, the average selling price was up 20% year over year and 2% month over month to $313,388; while for condos, it rose 4% year over year and 2% month over month to $248,204.4
The markets are entering uncharted waters, but if you need to sell or buy a home, a local Purplebricks REALTOR® can help you reach your real estate goals while keeping your family’s safety a top priority. Purplebricks supports Canadians by providing full-service real estate experiences with incredible rewards: sellers save thousands in commission and buyers receive $2,000 cash back* when they purchase a home with one of our REALTORS®. Call 1-855-953-9533 to learn more.