2016 was a record year for single-family home sales throughout the Winnipeg Realtors Market, which includes Steinbach. And if the first six months of this year are any indication, 2017 could be a repeat.

Peter Squire is Market Analyst with Multiple Listing Service. He says through June 30th last year there were 245 single family home sales in Steinbach. Through that same period this year, there have been 249 sales.

Last year at this time, the average selling price for a house was $268,281. While this year, it is $272,000.

One statistic that has seen a sharp drop over the last 12 months is the number of listings. Squire says there have been 452 so far this year, compared to 538 during the same period one year earlier. But he says that is the case across the board and not surprising.

"That is because of the new stress test that requires anyone taking out an insured mortgage to qualify for the higher Bank of Canada rate, which sits at 4.64 percent," he explains.

According to Squire, there has been a big increase in listings over the last few years and so the market is still well supplied. But he says the single family home market has tightened up a bit. There is now a three month supply instead of four months, which has been the case in previous years. He thinks Steinbach is still in relatively good shape.

And Squire says it is not surprising that sales remain strong even though listings are way down.

"Because the aggregate demand is continuing, the economy is good, people are employed, people are obviously taking advantage of some of the lowest rates, historic rates in our history," he notes. "All those factors haven't changed in 2017."

Instead of buying some of the higher priced single family homes, Squire suggests some people are seeking alternatives, such as affordable condominiums. In fact, there have been 28 condo sales in Steinbach so far in 2017, compared to 19 during the same period one year earlier. The average selling price has been $183,000, down slightly from last year.

Squire says the second quarter is historically the busiest in terms of sales.

"If we don't have a good second quarter, we're not going to have an outstanding year," he says.