Winnipeg Set To Be Hottest Housing Market in 2011

Well, I think we all knew that cheap housing in Winnipeg wouldn't and couldn't last forever.

Source: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/housing/winnipeg-set-to-be-hottest-housing-market/article1859524//

WINNIPEG TO BE HOTTEST HOUSING MARKET THIS YEAR IN CANADA


"Forget Vancouver or Toronto. Winnipeg is poised to be Canada's hottest housing market this year.

In fact, 2011 is shaping up to be the year of the mid-sized city with St. John's, Fredericton, Regina and Saskatoon also enjoying some of the strongest price increases in the country.

A lot of first-time buyers are already being priced out of large urban centres. With the Bank of Canada expected to resume interest-rate increases later this year, affordability will become a bigger issue for even more buyers."

...

"Winnipeg, however, is expected to eclipse that national average by posting a 7-per-cent gain this year. That easily outpaces the 3.7-per-cent increase expected for Vancouver and the 1-per-cent gain forecast for Toronto.

“It [Winnipeg] is the Canadian poster child for a well-diversified economy,” said Mr. Soper, adding the key drivers include agriculture, resources, manufacturing and public-sector employment. “They are not a one-trick pony like Calgary or St. John's, where you see really dramatic upswings, but a really solid reliable economy over the last decade and affordable home prices.”

Adrienne Warren, senior economist with the Bank of Nova Scotia, said the Winnipeg housing market remains “tight” in terms of supply. A positive population trend and strong demand will push prices higher."

I think an increase in interest rates will slow the Winnipeg market down. Its only a matter of time.

An increase in interest rates will slow the vast majority of markets across Canada, not just Winnipeg. I believe this article is referring to comparative growth across Canada. The Canadian housing market will be increasing as a whole, but Winnipeg will lead the pack. Find all the negative in that all you want, but this is indicative of positive economic growth, and is a good thing.

Big deal! An increase in interest rates will slow the market! Of course, if you have to pay more, fewer people will be able to pass the banks "mortgage requirements"!
You are hired as an advisor to Harper, God knows he needs a few! lol
Rates for mortgages are so damn low, making payments for purchasing a home so easy!
Did you notice that the homes in Regina are more expensive than in Winnipeg? We should be embarassed!
Our homes have been so low, they are playing a catch up in the last 5 years. There is nothing wrong with that!
I am paying $777 for a small bungalo , with a 75'x109' great yard in Charleswood. That is cheaper than renting a 2 bedroom apartment, and I overpaid at least $20,000 on this piece of crap!
When I finish renovating this piece of crap will be absolutely perfect. I need another $ 4- $10,000, depending on buying $6,000 worth of windows.
Cheap living in a cheap house in a cheap City!
Perfect!

We're not cheap Rosie...we're reasonable.

Property assessment arrived today. +55K over last time it was assessed. Does this mean I'm going to get over $6K worth of a$$-rape by the city this year at tax time?
Anyone else getting the bad touch from the city tax department this year??!

No, not necessarily ( although a lot of people will whine and say you will).

All depends on mill rate. City decides how much revenue they need and how much the mill rate should be based on revenue requirements.

So for example if city decides they need same amount of revenue and everyone's assessment goes up $55K, your tax bill stays the same.

You'll probably see a bit of an adjustment due to changing property values in differing areas of the city. I think ours went up $30K. I'm guessing this will probably result in a $250.00 increase in my yearly taxes.

and if it's too high...e-mail or call the tax assessor's office and plead your case.

Ours came in and I went to the tax assessor website, filed a request for changes on the house description form.

A guy called me about 1 month later, and I explained my reason for the changes and why I thought the assessment was WAY too high.

At the end of the conversation, he told me the assessed value would definitely come down. He couldn't guarantee anything, but it would come down about $25k.

We got the letter about 3 weeks later with the new assessment, and it dropped by $27k, which means our tax bill went from about $1200 to just under $1k.

This is nuts.So a lot of people are moving home from Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver, etc. where they have sold their overpriced houses and are now driving the prices up here. Yesterday, they showed that couple on the news who had listed their home for 270k, but got 350k for it and were very happy. Of course they haven't realized yet that the house they were planning on buying for 350k will now cost 500k. So interest rates are low right now, but people are taking on huge debts for a LONG time, maybe 35 years or more. we will see how long this will go on until there is a rude awakening for many.

we are not allowed to mortgage for longer then 35 in Canada I thought?

wait... list at 270 and sell for 350? (what kind of house and where?)

what would my City of Winnipeg estimate 250K house go for?

Deank wrote:we are not allowed to mortgage for longer then 35 in Canada I thought?

Have you ever refinanced your home?

or taken a 2nd mortgage?

it definitely CAN be more.

that is a completely different matter and has nothing to do with my question

Deank wrote:wait... list at 270 and sell for 350? (what kind of house and where?)

what would my City of Winnipeg estimate 250K house go for?

I misheard - it was 315K, but anyway.

http://www.globalwinnipeg.com/Winnipeg+real+estate+reaches+record+numbers/4086747/story.html

When the house is sold:

"Yaaayy - we got $45K over the asking price"

Then when they go to buy another house:

" Wait, what do you mean we are going to have to bid a minimum $25K over the asking price, that's not fair!"

hmm... so I MIGHT get around 250 or 260..maybe 270?

tempting.

But but but... then you would have to buy a new house dean!

yeah it would totally suck to have to move outside the city and purchase 9.1 acres, a house 2 times the size, 2 garages... and have it all completely paid for by the difference between my current mortgage and what my house would sell for.

BUT you would have to drive to the city every day for work!!!

yeah.. well considering I would not be paying a mortgage anymore.. I could afford a second vehicle, including all insurance and gas for about 2 months worth of my current mortgage payments.

plus I would be closer to more of my family.

plus I would get to see more stars.

plus I work on the south end of the city so getting to work would take less time then it does now when I take the bus.

plus its close enough to the city to not miss out on anything
plus the hockey programs are better there...

christ why am I not just selling and buying this place already?

Plus...you're building up equity in the oil company that you support so generously with the extraordinary amount of gas you use driving around.

It's also nice to have that extra couple of hours every day listening to the radio when you're doing all that driving.

High house prices = really great when selling
High house prices = really sucks when buying

What a moronic discussion. Sorry if that offends anyone.

Someone selling their $350k Calgary home can either buy more house for $350k in Winnipeg or the same house and (maybe) pocket the difference.

The law of supply and demand is at work here. Even if no one from Calgary, Edmonton or Vancouver bought houses the prices will still be going up because the city is growing both organically and through immigration.

The people coming home are likely having a small affect on the over-all market as I believe their number is small...

We have friends that sold their house in Calgary, which they had purchased in the early 70's, have now moved to Mexico and are living off the interest alone. They bought in Progreso.

So...there are variables eh.

JTF wrote:Plus...you're building up equity in the oil company that you support so generously with the extraordinary amount of gas you use driving around.

It's also nice to have that extra couple of hours every day listening to the radio when you're doing all that driving.

by bus it takes me 1 to 1.5 hours to get to work now.

by car it takes anywhere from 17 to 45 minutes.


the house I just looked at to my current work is 50 kilometres, my current work is just barely inside the city so traffic should usually not matter much.

so.. 30 minutes to 1 hour to get to work...and not stop and go traffic so... might be pretty much the same amount of gas ( I get way wicked highway gas mileage and way bad city mileage 8.1 hgy, 13.5 city) and pretty much same amount of time.

plus... I could legitimately use "snow day" excuse to work from home.

by bus it takes me 1 to 1.5 hours to get to work now.

by car it takes anywhere from 17 to 45 minutes.

It appears that where we live in respect to where we work is becoming less significant in our lives...to our peril I reckon.


Years ago I worked in Calgary but lived in Bragg Creek...for less than a year. I simply could not take all that driving. It was complete dead time to me. But, to each their own.

The point I am making is that its very little in difference (in time and gas used) to what I am already doing.

AND it saves me over $800 per month in mortgage payments and I get a bigger house, more land, etc... If I tried purchasing a comparable house close to where I am currently working so that I could walk. I would be paying double. AND it would take me damn near as long to walk.. so...where is the time saved?

Given an option, I'd buy outside the city...give or take to about the edge of St. Andrews (and radius around the West/North sides)

I'd stay away from the South due to flooding, and the East due to crappy commute routes.

And you DO get more house/land for the money.

If I had the option to work from home...I'd move next week.

Unfortunately...too many companies still believe the "8-5 office time" actually means anything.

If the forums, facebook and game site popularity over the recent years have shown anything...it's that people WILL waste their time at work doing something anyway...whether they are sitting at home or in the office.

hmm.. good point I would get time off from work for a flood too.

err.. no wait. umm I think I might be thinking about that wrong...

http://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/Interest-rate-rise-trigger-capress-2046187280.html
I don't think higher interest rates will have any effects on the price of homes in Winnipeg. With high taxes and empty bank accounts, mortgages are already hit hard with the present low rates...