Michelle Hamilton was on the hunt for a two-bedroom bungalow for herself and her daughter Ainsley.Shannon VanRaes/The Globe and Mail
Michelle Hamilton was born and raised in Winnipeg. In 2013, she moved to Gabriola Island, B.C., a rural community 25 minutes from Nanaimo by ferry, with her husband, who is also from Winnipeg. In 2014, they purchased a two-bedroom farmhouse on five acres of land for $335,000. Their daughter, Ainsley, was born in 2018. After that, Ms. Hamilton, now 42, yearned to be closer to family back in Winnipeg.
“We have an only child, and she had no cousins or extended family in B.C.,” she explains. “For all those holidays and celebrations, as she was getting older, I wanted her to be forming those memories with her family. I really wanted to go back to my roots.”
In the fall of 2024, Ms. Hamilton separated from her husband and the two planned a return to Winnipeg. They’d purchase separate homes in Winnipeg and split custody of Ainsley, who is now seven years old. “We had a window of opportunity to move, where we had equity in our [Gabriola Island] home, while my daughter was still young and my parents were still in good health,” she explains.
In June, 2025, Ms. Hamilton and her ex-husband sold their home on Gabriola Island for $765,000. Then, in July, Ms. Hamilton secured a job as an employment counsellor with the province of Manitoba and relocated back to Winnipeg with Ainsley, staying with her parents while beginning the house hunt.
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Ms. Hamilton set herself a budget of $450,000. She wanted at least two bedrooms, a garage and at least 900 square feet of space that was move-in ready.
“We’d already lived successfully as three people in a 1,000-square-foot house in Gabriola, so I knew I could get a 900-square-foot house and be comfortable in it,” she explains.
A finished basement would be a bonus, as a play area for Ainsley, as would a second bathroom. Ms. Hamilton focused her search on bungalows, since her previous home was a bungalow and she’d developed an affinity for the housing style.
Having already secured Ainsley’s spots in an elementary school and before-and-after care in River Heights, a neighbourhood southwest of downtown Winnipeg, she focused her search there. It would put her commute to work downtown at a reasonable 30-minute drive.
Realtor Brittany Amorim describes River Heights as a highly desirable neighbourhood in Winnipeg. “It’s so central and it’s a got a lot of walkability,” Ms. Amorim explains. “There are a ton of schools, grocery stores – there’s everything that you could possibly need.”
Here were Ms. Hamilton’s top three options:
Large bungalow in Central River Heights
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Ms. Hamilton liked that this house, built in 1951, kept some of its original character but had been renovated with new hardwood floors and an updated bathroom with heated floors. It was a roomy 980 square feet with a detached single car garage. The primary bedroom had a walk-in closet and the second bedroom was spacious, too. While the kitchen was large, there was no dining room.
“It just had bar stools at the kitchen counter,” she explains. “I couldn’t imagine hosting people and not having a dining room table to gather at.”
The basement was only partially finished, which meant having to do more renovation work in the future to take full advantage of the space, but the basement did have a second full bathroom – the only property in her top three that had a second bathroom. The home was listed for $400,000.
Landscaped bungalow in North River Heights
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As an avid gardener, Ms. Hamilton was drawn to the manicured landscaping of this North River Heights bungalow on a quiet street.
The home was built in the 1940s but had been well-maintained with its original hardwood in good condition. There was a small kitchen with updated appliances, a separate dining room and a fully finished basement with large windows and a third bedroom.
But the home was only 883 square feet, which was just shy of the 900 square feet that Ms. Hamilton desired (she felt that the bedroom closets were small). The property was listed for $439,000.
Budget bungalow in Rockwood
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Ms. Hamilton considered this two-bedroom bungalow in Rockwood, a neighbourhood just east of River Heights, since it was competitively priced at $349,999. Built in 1949, it had been renovated with new windows and a new bathroom.
The kitchen could fit a small table, but there wasn’t a separate dining room. This home was even smaller than the previous option, coming in at only 848 square feet. The basement was finished, and came with a third bedroom, and the backyard had a fire pit.
THEIR HOME: Landscaped bungalow in North River Heights
While the budget bungalow was appealing pricewise, and Rockwood was only a few minutes away from River Heights, Ms. Hamilton still felt attached to living in her preferred neighbourhood. After viewing the properties, she realized how important it was for her to have a separate dining room. That left the landscaped bungalow as her top choice, despite it being smaller. “I prioritized the location of the neighbourhood over maximizing the size of house that I could get in terms of the square footage,” Ms. Hamilton explains.
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She liked the open-concept layout of the landscaped bungalow and how it was an older home with character but still had updated features, such as granite countertops and updated appliances in the kitchen. Ms. Hamilton also appreciated the large windows in the finished basement for Ainsley’s playroom. “They let in a ton of light so the basement doesn’t feel dark,” she says. While its square footage was smaller than she initially hoped for, she felt that the space was sufficient and didn’t feel cramped.
In September, 2025, Ms. Hamilton submitted an offer on the property at its listing price – $439,000 – which the seller accepted. “I actually got it for list price, which is unreal because there’s usually bidding wars in River Heights for almost all of the houses,” she says. Ms. Hamilton took possession of the home in October.
Now settled in her hometown, Ms. Hamilton is enjoying the perks of living close to her family again. “They help out when I’m in a pinch for child care,” she says. She’ll gather with her relatives almost every weekend for activities such as tobogganing and skating on the river trail. “We are very happy where we landed,” Ms. Hamilton says.
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