Portage la Prairie's housing market is trending in an interesting direction due to several unique factors. With everything from Portage's economic boom to interest rates and COVID, it's quite a challenge for realtors.

Local realtor Ryan Espey looks at several factors that contribute to the current market, including the growth and low-interest rates at the banks.

Realtor Ryan Espey"We have outside investment coming in, picking up properties that they're using as investment properties," continues Espey. "If you're a buyer, the advice I would have for some people that are looking to purchase is to be ready. They should be going and getting all of their proverbial ducks in a row. As far as having financing in order, if they have a house to sell, they should be looking at doing that immediately. If they're looking to upgrade, basically remove all the obstacles that would be between them and the purchase of their new home. So, no surprises."

He adds you have to know how much you can borrow if that's what you intend to do, as well as have your wish-list in order and be ready to make a decision quickly. Espey says sometimes, sleeping on a decision for a purchase is all that it takes for that house to be sold to someone else.

"Now, on the flip-side of that, it's an amazing time to list your property," adds Espey. "There are houses that are going on the market and selling within 24 hours. It is a common trend that has been going on and we seem to be accelerating. So, it's a very exciting time for Portage real estate and also we're seeing a bit of uptake on commercial and industrial land. That's also exciting to see that start to unravel."

Espey says we've not quite made it to the level of Winnipeg or Brandon where bidding wars are commonplace, but several occasions like that have arisen.

Rhonda Lodwick's also sharing her thoughts on housing sales, and outlines the trends.

"I think our market is definitely strong, but there's certainly a shortage of houses on the market in all price ranges," says Lodwick. "The buyers are looking with low-interest rates, but there's just not that many homes to look at. It's definitely a seller's market, but it's a situation where the homes need to be priced right and people are certainly searching for specific homes. So, not all homes are working I guess, but we've got the buyers looking. We just need to get some more inventory."

Lodwick notes this year is somewhat unique with its early spring, and she explains how that's been affecting sales.

Realtor Rhonda Lodwick"Traditionally, we would start to pick up the end of March," adds Lodwick. "I can say that houses have been selling through January, February and March, especially with the warm temperatures."

She says COVID-19 seems to have had the effect of pushing apartment residents to look for the chance to move out and get a home with more space. Lodwick says that those people are thinking of having more room if they are going to have to stay home and be together.

"And definitely the acreages -- I think people, after last year, have looked at the opportunity to move to the country and be a little more self-sustaining, and have their own gardens and yards and property to play on," Lodwick says.

She notes the time is great to purchase a home, seeing as mortgage rates are especially low.

"I think with the industry going up, there's certainly a large need right now for rental properties, and we are seeing people coming in and purchasing homes," continues Lodwick. "So, I'm certain in the near future, we'll see some more development of homes. But with the building costs, the used homes, I think, are going to look more attractive to many people as well."

Peter Bracken's also selling homes in town and shares his thoughts.

"It seems like I'm doing analytics every 48 hours, but I'll tell you, it's fun," says Bracken. "We have many properties that are still good. Homes that the sellers allow us to price correctly are typically gone very quickly. I'm not going to give you a timeline because every property is different. We're working long, hard days."

He explains it's not really more of a buyer's market than a seller's.

"It's actually a very excellent balance where Portage is usually on one side of it," adds Bracken. "We actually have a really good balance right now as opposed to Brandon or Winnipeg markets. There's a little bit of everything and it's win-win across the board. There are some good things going on and we're watching the market very closely just to help everyone that's directly affected."

Espey also notes that things are a little crazy out there right now.

"There are some things that are happening that we haven't seen in a number of years," notes Espey. "We have definitely a shortage of listings. We normally would sit with between 100 and 110 historically, at this time of year. But we're hovering down between that 40 to 50 range locally."