Page 33 - Trending Magazine 2018 Winter

Million Dollar Home_Layout 1 18-12-05 10:39 AM Page 4
“Make every girl jealous,” Christie said noting the
custom drying racks, a massive amount of cupboards, By the numbers…
a heated floor and even a television to watch
programs between loads.
Wrapping up their tour, Graham, who has been in
the real estate business for 18 years (Christie for 15 she goes,” says the executive officer for Brandon
years), said he’s been a witness to the growth of Area REALTORS.
million-dollar homes in Brandon.
“As Realtors, we are fortunate to have the
opportunity to be a part of selling somebody else’s booms of Alberta’s oil industry.
dream,” he said.
Unlike super-heated housing markets in Toronto
and Vancouver, Brandon tends toward “steady as
Jen Pearson said Brandon’s economy is
dependent more on agriculture than the busts and
“Here, it’s always been fairly stable,” Pearson said.
That’s not to say the Wheat City doesn’t have its
own mini-booms.
Pearson, who started out as a Realtor in 2007,
said business was in high gear back then.
That year, 679 residential homes sold in the city
of Brandon. Some 450 homes have been sold so
far this year.
“It was a very busy market back then,” Pearson
said.
She noted the arrival of immigrant families has
helped boost the local market.
This year, 11 homes listed at $900,000 or more
were on the market as of the third week of
November. None over $1 million has been sold so
far this year, Pearson said.
Statistics compiled by Brandon Area REALTORS
show the average selling price of a home in
Brandon to the end of September was $276,682.
This includes duplexes, townhouses, single
detached and detached homes. It does not include
condos or mobile homes.
The average price of a Brandon home 10 years
ago was $196,556.
Going back even farther, it becomes evident that
buying a home in Brandon was once a much more
affordable prospect.
The real estate board’s statistics show the
average selling price of an abode in 2003 was
$108,224.
Pearson noted building costs have also grown
over the years, helping to drive up the price of
homes.
Meanwhile, Century 21’s annual national study
of trends and changes in the price per square foot
of residential properties in communities across
Canada found condos and detached homes in
Brandon are among the least expensive in the
Prairies, valued at $196 and $248 per square foot
respectively.
By comparison, condos and detached homes in
Winnipeg were $261 per square foot and $282
per square foot, respectively.
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