Winnipeg’s million-dollar home market is expanding — and it’s leading the way nationally in sales growth, a new Royal LePage report shows. Read this article for free: Already have an account? To continue reading, please subscribe: * Winnipeg’s million-dollar home market is expanding — and it’s leading the way nationally in sales growth, a new Royal LePage report shows. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? Winnipeg’s million-dollar home market is expanding — and it’s leading the way nationally in sales growth, a new Royal LePage report shows.
The firm clocked a 61.9 per cent jump in “luxury market” sales when comparing the first eight months of 2024 to the same period in 2023. “You have to take that number with a grain of salt,” said Chris Pennycook, a real estate agent with Royal LePage.
“But it does show the market is strong.” Ruth Bonneville / Free Press As of Wednesday, 870 Wellington Cres. was listed online for sale with an asking price of $2,499,800.
Thus far in 2024, 84 homes in Winnipeg have changed hands for $1 million-plus. A grain of salt is needed because million-dollar home purchases consume just one to two per cent of the overall housing market, Pennycook continued. Still, there’s been a notable change.
So far this year, Royal LePage has counted 84 sales of homes costing at least $1 million, up from roughly 50 during the same time frame in 2023. (The Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board has clocked 114 house sales in the price bracket this year, ending in August, nearly doubling the 67 sold during the same time last year.) There are more homes in the $1 million and multimillion-dollar range — but there’s also more buyers willing to pay the price, Pennycook said.
Michael Froese, president-elect of the Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board, echoed that stance. “It’s a vote of confidence for the marketplace in general,” Froese said of the luxury spike. Professionals, business owners and other high-income earners are among the buyers of such properties, according to Pennycook.
Froese has seen Canadians from provinces with higher costs of living migrate to Winnipeg. They can get more for $1 million, he relayed. The average luxury property, which Royal LePage describes as costing $1 million or more, holds 4.
2 bedrooms and 3.1 bathrooms in Winnipeg. It spans a typical 2,892 square feet.
The median price of Winnipeg’s luxury properties rose 4.9 per cent year-over-year to $1,206,000. Million-dollar homes are becoming increasingly common, Froese noted.
Natural price appreciation has raised costs, as has construction inflation. A 2024 Canadian Home Builders’ Association survey found construction on a typical 2,400-sq.-ft.
home cost $65,000 more now than in 2019, nationally. This year, nearly 20 per cent of home sales $1 million or more have come from the Tuxedo neighbourhood. Roughly 16 per cent were new builds, Froese underlined.
Bridgwater takes second for most million-dollar home sales this year, Froese added. “Five, 10 years ago, the $1 million mark in Winnipeg was this ‘wow,’” said Jino Distasio, a University of Winnipeg urban geography professor. “But now, is it still the wow factor, or is .
.. (it the) $1.
5 or $2 million market that is really setting more of a luxury benchmark? “We’re redefining what maybe could be considered the luxury market.” Distasio highlighted the South Osborne neighbourhood — he’s noticed homes for sale in the $1 million price range. Builds of different kinds in different neighbourhoods are “commanding seven figures,” something likely unseen before the COVID-19 pandemic, Distasio added.
It can be unsettling for Canadians who remember a time where $400,000 once wasn’t a “modest quality” house price, he said. Monday mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. In August, a typical detached home in Winnipeg cost $415,717, according to Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board data.
In 2019, the same home might cost $312,655. Increased luxury home sales is both encouraging and discouraging, Distasio explained: “We want to see the market move up, but at the same time, we want to see affordability.” Winnipeg is circling a population of 900,000 residents.
As such, the city will see a diversified market, including more luxury homes, he noted. Royal LePage released its latest luxury market report today. gabrielle.
[email protected] Gabrielle Piché reports on business for the . She interned at the and worked for its sister outlet, , before entering the business beat in 2021.
. Every piece of reporting Gabrielle produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the ‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about , and .
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider . Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism.
Thank you for your support. Gabrielle Piché reports on business for the . She interned at the and worked for its sister outlet, , before entering the business beat in 2021.
. Every piece of reporting Gabrielle produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the ‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about , and .
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider . Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism.
Thank you for your support. Advertisement Advertisement.
