“Spring is in the air, I can feel it everywhere. O Yeah, spring is in the air?” I am excited! I am really excited and I hope you are as excited as I am. It is a wonderful feeling. Being cooped up through this pandemic has driven me a little stir crazy and I am excited to get outside and enjoy another great Manitoba spring and summer. With restrictions being relaxed, hopefully we will have a spring and summer like never before.

IMPRESSIVE CONDO SALES IN 2021

There’s a saying that many of us are familiar with: what a difference a year makes.

Well, the passing of one year has made a huge difference in condo sales. Even though sales in March 2020 were decent, the solid numbers from one year ago were blown away by March 2021 numbers. Once all the dust had settled, March 2021 – there were 397 new listings this year compared to 329 the year previous - this proved to be the best-ever month for condo sales in Winnipeg, with 288 listings being sold.

Here are some new items and others concerning previous newsletter articles, Lunch-n-Learns, webinars and Conversations in previous Newsletter editions. If you want to contribute to the discussion, you can make a submission to https://cci-manitoba.ca/resources/condo-conversation-corner.

Whether it improves the sustainability of your condo operations, reduces waste, increases energy efficiency, reduces water consumption or just beautifies the environment surrounding your property, we’d like to hear from you - just send us an email with a subject line of “CCI Green Condo Page”. We hope to hear from you soon. Please send any comments or suggestions to cci.mb.news@gmail.com.

We are coming off a spectacular year in 2021 where condo sales skyrocketed 39% from 1,847 in 2020 to 2,572 in 2021. This is a clear indication of preferences shifting with first-time buyers in particular finding condos a more affordable housing option which they can manage. Even with the supercharged demand for condos in 2021 the annual average sales price only went up a modest 2% to $244,957.

While we didn’t receive any new submissions from our members in the past few months, we did come across some recommendations from a report from the Canadian Institute of Actuaries that looked at reserve funds and reserve fund studies across all Provinces and Territories. The Executive Summary on pages 4-5 of the report are recommended reading for all condo unit owners and especially for their directors. What follows is a review of the report and some of the highlights.

Here are some items in relation to prior newsletter articles, Lunch-n- Learns, webinars and Conversations in prior Newsletter editions. If you want to contribute to the discussion, you can make a submission to https://cci-manitoba.ca/resources/condo-conversation-corner.

No matter which way you cut it, the number of sales is phenomenal. Compare it to the best previous year – 2014 – and it blows it away with nearly 400 more sales, as 963 condominiums were sold during the first six months of that year versus 1,376 this year. Percentage-wise, the first half of 2021 still works out to be 43 per cent better than sales from seven years ago!

Welcome to Fall, my favourite time of year, so why does it still feel like summer? The geese are practising I hope and will not leave for a long while yet. The leaves are turning and the fall colours are beautiful and as I write this report on a sunny and warm day in the first week of October, the grass is still green and the temperature is expected to be 29 degrees today. What a blessing! October is a time for giving thanks.....thanks for our family, friends, our health and how blessed we are to live in Manitoba.

CONDO REAL ESTATE BLOG: WITH THREE MONTHS TO GO BEFORE THE END OF THE 2021 SALES YEAR, THE CONDO MARKET REMAINS HOT.

Here are some new items and others concerning previous newsletter articles, Lunch-n-Learns, webinars and Conversations in previous Newsletter editions. If you want to contribute to the discussion, you can make a submission to cci-manitoba.ca/resources/condo-conversation-corner.

Disclaimer

CCI Manitoba is unable to provide specific legal advice. We recommend that you speak to a lawyer regarding the challenges or problems you may be experiencing. For your information, a list of lawyers who are Professional Members of the Manitoba Chapter of the Canadian Condominium.

It’s winter, and welcome to my first report as President of CCI Manitoba Chapter. Since being elected to the position in October, I have been busy not only with the functions of being President but with learning what those functions are. Certainly with the help of Past President Maureen Hancharyk, the rest of the board members, our chapter administrator and our volunteers, the task has not been that daunting. Being President is both rewarding and challenging at the same time. From the numerous emails, committee and national meetings I have learned a lot in my short time in this position. Learning is key to being successful and my learning will continue throughout my term.

Here are some new items and others concerning previous newsletter articles, Lunch-n-Learns, webinars and Conversations in previous Newsletter editions. 

We encourage you to submit suggestions for improving the Provincial Condo Act to us. We have started posting these ‘suggestions for improvement’ in our quarterly Condominium News and Views.