A spokesperson for the Winnipeg Realtors Market says the first quarter of 2018 was better for Steinbach than for the rest of the Winnipeg metropolitan region.

Peter Squire is a Market Analyst with Multiple Listing Service. He says from January 1st through March 31st, there were 86 single family home sales in Steinbach. That is the exact same number as during the first quarter of 2017.

Listings through the first quarter dropped from 204 in 2017 to 187 this year.

The average selling price has jumped in the last 12 months. A year ago it was close to $260,000, while today it stands at $277,000.

Squire says it has been a disappointing start to the year for condominium sales in Steinbach. There were only 6 through the first quarter, compared to 13 during the same period a year earlier. Squire says that could be attributed to there being fewer condo listings. In the first three months this year there were 23 listings, down from 45 a year earlier.

Squire says the average selling price for a condominium has jumped from $165,000 last year to $175,000 this year. However, he cautions against reading too much into that, noting there has been a much smaller sample size this year.

According to Squire, there are a couple of reasons why MLS sales in the region have not been brisker. One reason is because of the slow start to spring, the other reason is because of the early Easter. With an additional long weekend in the first quarter, Squire says it means fewer people will be shopping for a house on those days.

"We're not too worried at this point," says Squire. "It's still the first quarter and while you hear about the stress test from the people I've spoken to, while it's a factor we don't think it's having a considerable effect on our market at this point."