Yes, you can have a look yourself. House prices has no relationship with the weather.
Royal LePage predicts modest double-digit price hike for 2008
Wed Jan 9 2008
By Murray McNeill
The cost of a standard two-storey home in Southdale has soared by a staggering $66,220, or 37.9 per cent, in the last year, according to a new house-prices report released Tuesday.
And Southdale isn\'t the only Winnipeg neighbourhood experiencing the kind of price increases normally seen in cities like Toronto or Vancouver, the Royal LePage Real Estate Services prices survey found.
In Charleswood, the average selling price for a standard detached bungalow jumped by $46,000, or 27.4 per cent, between the fourth quarter of 2006 and the fourth quarter of last year. In northwest Winnipeg, it increased by $35,850, or 20.6 per cent.
For the city as a whole, the real estate firm said the average price of a detached bungalow jumped by 20.8 per cent to $214,494, for a two-storey it rose by 19.6 per cent to $237,571, and for a standard condominium it increased by 20.1 per cent to $124,270.
Those kinds of heady increases are unusual for Winnipeg, where up until five years ago the resale homes market performed more like a tortoise than a hare. They also gave it the unusual distinction of having some of the biggest price hikes in the country between late 2006 and late 2007.
The Royal LePage figures show only three of the other 16 cities surveyed -- Saskatoon, Regina and Saint John -- saw bigger price year-over-year increases.
Homebuyers reeling
One local Royal LePage official admitted Winnipeg\'s increases have some homebuyers reeling.
\"It\'s like sticker shock. We get that all the time,\" said John Froese, a broker with Royal LePage Prime Real Estate.
\" eople ask, \'how long can this go on? How can our kids afford to buy a house?\' The short answer is, \'just like everybody else in the country. If kids in Vancouver or Toronto can still buy homes, Winnipeg should be a piece of cake.\"
Froese said despite five consecutive years of double-digit house price increases, homes are still cheaper here than in any major city west of the Maritimes.
And Winnipeg REALTORS Association figures released Monday suggest that while Winnipeggers may be shocked at what\'s happened to house prices, it hasn\'t stopped them from buying, he added.
Last year was a record-breaking year for property sales through the WRA\'s multiple listing service (MLS), with sales eclipsing the 13,000-unit threshold for the first time in the association\'s 104-year history.
Froese said that tells him Winnipeggers realize they have no choice but to pay the higher prices if they want to own their own home.
\"Some people get discouraged, but they get over it. So it\'s not the end of the world at all,\" he said. \"Keep in mind, too, that interest rates are historically low,\" which makes homes more affordable.
\'Continued strength\'
Froese and Jeff Powell, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.\'s senior market analyst for Manitoba, said Winnipeggers shouldn\'t assume from the fourth-quarter numbers that Winnipeg has suddenly ascended to a whole new level when it comes to house-price increases.
\"I would caution people against saying that the heat is being turned up, or any of that sort of language,\" Powell said. \"I would be more comfortable characterizing it as \'continued strength\' (in the local market).\"
Froese also said the examples cited in the Royal LePage survey are just that -- examples.
\"There\'s no way in the world that prices all over Southdale/Windsor Park went up 37 per cent.\"
He said one Winnipeg neighbourhood -- Westwood -- had only a 2.2 per cent increase in the average price of a two-storey home. In northeast Winnipeg, the increase was 10.8 per cent.
While Royal LePage is forecasting another double-digit price hike for 2008, Froese said it should be more moderate -- about 11.4 per cent. He said even last year\'s overall increase for the city was closer to 13 or 14 per cent than the 37.9 or 27.4 per cent seen in some individual neighbourhoods. And Powell pegged it at about 15 or 16 per cent.
Royal LePage said a combination of factors are fuelling the rising cost of resale homes in Winnipeg, including a strong economy, high employment levels, strong consumer confidence, moderately low interest rates, and relative home buying affordability.
murray.mcneill@freepress.mb.ca
Average selling prices
Here are the average selling prices for the three major types of resale homes in eight Winnipeg neighbourhoods in the fourth quarter of 2007 (with the year-over-year percentage increase in brackets):
AREA DET. BUNGALOW TWO-STOREY CONDOMINIUM
Charleswood $214,000 (27.4) *N/A N/A
River Heights $226,800 (21.3) $247,400 (24.9) $136,050 (22)
Southdale $208,500 (24.1) $241,000 (37.9) N/A
Westwood $201,000 (19.7) $210,000 (2.2) $113,900 (14.3)
Northwest $209,850 (20.6) $227,500 (19.7) N/A
Northeast $205,500 (16.1) $235,000 (10.8) $108,800 (26.5)
South St. Vital $230,600 (19.5) $262,000 (27.8) $129,600 (17.7)
Ft. Richmond $219,700 (18.1) $240,100 (17.1) $133,000 (20.9) |
