If you’re looking for a detached home that’s well below the national median price, there aren’t a lot of large cities better than Winnipeg.
The current median price of a detached home in the Gateway to the West is about $425,000, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association. While that’s the highest in Manitoba’s history, it’s still significantly lower than the national benchmark of $741,000.
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The Peg is the eighth largest Canadian metropolitan area, with close to 850,000 people, but it’s significantly cheaper to buy a home there than in any of the larger – or smaller – communities across the country that make up the 15 most-populous metro areas. Here’s what that median budget would get you.
The former railway town of Transcona, where the house on Yale Avenue West is located, has built up and joined Winnipeg as a suburb.Supplied
341 Yale Ave. W
Asking price: $414,900
Coming in a little below the median price is this 1913 home that’s been restored and maintained over more than a century. Around it, the former railway town of Transcona has built up and joined Winnipeg as an east-end suburb.
“A lot of buyers are looking for stuff that’s move-in ready, What seems to be more popular these days is bungalows – three-bedrooms, 1960s-built – in Transcona,” said Isaiah Chepil with Royal LePage Prime Real Estate. “From what I’ve experienced doing the open houses, interest was coming from families that have a house and have outgrown it.”
The price was somewhat affected by the relatively small yard in an area where big lots can fetch premium prices, but the pricing in the city overall has been a welcome boost. “Our market’s been really great, we don’t have the same kind of dips a lot of other cities do. The average detached house – from what I know – in the last 20 years has always gone up,” he said.
The 1950s-era three-bedroom home on Harmon Avenue is also a rental property.Supplied
26 Harmon Ave.
Asking price: $425,000
The kind of bungalows that are popular for young families in the city are also sometimes rental properties, as is the case in this 1950s-era three-bedroom home (well maintained with original hardwood floors) that is part of a portfolio of rental homes managed by Monopoly Realty and listing agent Matthew Blumberg.
“I sell a lot of properties that have tenants in them, I’ve picked up my niche doing that,” said Mr. Blumberg, who said that it can be tricky to negotiate a sale with existing tenants involved. “Most people don’t really know the rules; you can’t just be kicked out.”
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This area in the west end of town (between the airport and the Assiniboine River) has a lot of similar homes owned by families who live in them. Mr. Blumberg said a rental investor would be more likely to look for something with more revenue potential given the acquisition cost, despite a relatively good rental market (these tenants pay $1,875).
“We have a very low vacancy rate, there’s not a lot of homes available for tenants so when stuff does come up you can ask what we call a premium,” Mr. Blumberg said.
2 Pepin Pl. is the type of house that attracts buyers from outside Winnipeg.Supplied
2 Pepin Pl.
Asking price: $724,900
At the higher end of the market in Winnipeg, near the national median detached price, is the kind of home that attracts local move-up buyers and buyers from out of province.
“When we get an out-of-town buyer – people in Vancouver that sold a place for $1.3-million – for $800,000 they can get an even nicer home than the townhouse they had in North Vancouver,” said Tyler Mitchell, realtor with Real Broker Manitoba Ltd.
Mr. Mitchell used to live in the Sage Creek near his listing at 2 Pepin, and still has a lot of clients who bought new homes there during one of the many phases of building over the past 20 years of development led by Western Canada builder Qualico Developments (Its headquarters is nearby). This home is almost 10 years old, but has some advantages over brand new houses in the area selling at a comparable price, such as a finished basement, a fence and even a driveway, which is not always included in the price of a new-build. The house ended up selling over asking in a bidding war at almost exactly the national median: $741,500.
“People like new-builds because you get more modern functionality; a mud room, a main-floor two-piece bathroom, side entryway to the basement, an ensuite bathroom,” Mr. Mitchell said, adding that a primary suite bathroom add-on is not a feature older homes typically have in other parts of Winnipeg. “In established neighbourhoods – even at the same price – there’s no guarantee that there’s an ensuite.”