John McLennan

The pace of resale house sales in Winnipeg isn't slowing down. Typically January is a slow month for Realtors. Not true for 2011. I know that every house my clients put offers on went for over list and that doesn't usually happen in January in Winnipeg in sub-zero weather, right after the Christmas/New year season.

My personal feeling is buyers heard about the new Government of Canada Mortgage Rules coming into effect on March 18, 2011 and the possibility of interest rates rising in a few months. These announcements and the lack of inventory typical of January has caused a panic in buyers to escalate their house purchase. Of course, this affects supply and demand. Normally, January typically doesn't have many new listings (comparitive to other months). There usually isn't that many buyers out either because they know there isn't much inventory. In fact, a lot of Realtors will take a few weeks off during January due to the lack of business. This year, there was still a slowing down in inventory but the buyers were out in full force.

The long and short of it is this: if you have been thinking of selling your house this year and figured you should wait for the 'Spring' market, you just might miss the boat and the best price for your house. The spring market is NOW! Also, don't forget that we are scheduled for a doozy of a flood come spring. This will most likely disrupt the spring housing market.

Here are some stats for Winnipeg: