2020: The Seller’s Market
Looking back on 2020 in real estate, our local region continued to thrive. It was no secret that it was a year of the seller’s market. Seller’s market happens when there are more buyers than homes on the market, and a buyer’s market is when there are more homes for sale than buyers. When there is the same number of homes for sale as there are buyers, we call this a balanced market.
This past year’s seller’s market could easily be seen in the statistics. Because 2020 was the year of staying home, the market saw less sellers willing to make their move and have potential buyers walk through their home. A shortage of affordable lots in Winkler also contributed to less individual builds, which would have put more homes on the market.
The Pembina Valley has continued to see an increase of housing needed with a growing population. This is due to immigration associated with job opportunities, education, quality of life, etc, as well as first-time home buyers moving out of their parent’s homes or deciding it is time to invest in the housing market.
This means that once a home was put on the market this year, we often saw a great influx of activity as buyers jumped on the opportunity. This is also why an offer deadline is often used in a sellers market. This is to give all the potential buyers enough time to see the home without panic and the opportunity to make an offer, and for the seller to see what offers are presented to them at one time.
In real estate, a common statistic used to see how long it takes for a home to sell is called Days on the Market (DOM). In 2020, Winkler had a DOM median of 21 days to sell, and Morden followed close behind at 28, which is lower than what is typically seen.
It’s important to know if you’re being shown the average or median number when viewing number statistics in real estate. For example, if you have a set of sale prices, the median price is that number where half the numbers are lower and half the numbers are higher. The average would be when all the number values are added up and then divided by the amount of numbers in that set. Often the median or average can be similar, but if you have a few numbers in that set that are significantly higher or lower than the rest, it will pull the average up, whereas the median will stay centered.
The median sale price in Winkler this year was $260,000 and Morden was $254,750, a jump from 2019, as seen in the chart below. This was in the category of residential and condo sales, not including commercial or lot sales.
As we head into 2021, it looks like there will be no slowing down anytime soon, with all of the same factors remaining. We may see a price surge in new construction, as the lumber market has seen a record increase of demand due to Covid-19 shortages. How the pandemic will exactly impact our market this year, only time will tell.
If you are thinking about the right timing for your next move, or have more questions about what’s happening in the market, we would be happy to have that conversation with you. Our Choice Realtors are available by call or text at any time, and no matter what lies ahead in 2021, we remain committed to you as your friends in real estate.