A few decades ago, buying a home for $1 million would have been only for the ultra wealthy. Nowadays, it’s not only more common, but much more likely. In 1990, the average home price in Winnipeg was $85,018 – a long way from $1 million. Today, the average is $432,991. Suddenly, a $1-million home no longer seems quite so unrealistic.
Thankfully, Winnipeg still has one of the most affordable home prices in the country and what you get here for $1 million is a sizeable home with luxurious detailing.
According to the 2024 Royal LePage 2024 Million-Dollar Properties Report, the average $1-million home nationally is 1,760 square feet. In Winnipeg, it’s 2,558 – 798 square feet more, and one of the largest in the country.
There are many factors that influence the real estate market of each city, including the economy, overall affordability, average sale prices, income and employment levels, demographics and household formations, according to Michael Froese, Winnipeg’s managing partner at Royal LePage Prime Real Estate.
“In Vancouver, for example, their average is 900 square feet, and the average sale price is over a million dollar. That’s just point of entry in Toronto and Vancouver,” says Froese. “It’s a luxury home here. In Winnipeg, these are move-up homes. People are later in life when they purchase these homes – more experienced people, established people and families, often with older kids or kids out of the house. You don’t see an abundance of 30 year olds buying million-dollar homes in this market.”
These variances also account for the differences in average bedrooms and bathrooms seen in the report.
Given our larger square footage, it may be surprising that the number of bedrooms – 3.2 – matches the national average and sits below many other areas, including Montreal, Halifax and Quebec, which all have smaller spaces. But our typical million-dollar home buyers don’t need as many bedrooms compared to younger families elsewhere.
Winnipeg does have the highest number of bathrooms in the country – 3.2 compared to 2.1 nationally. More bathrooms is likely due to the larger space and a popular two-storey floor plan with en suite and family bathroom upstairs and guest bath on the main floor.
Local buyers also get much more than square footage, with high-tech upgrades and the finest materials from floor to ceiling. The ample lots often have walkouts on to lakes or a river view. Froese also points to triple garages and finished basements being common, as well as lavish add-ons, such as a sauna, wine cellar or sunroom.
“Winnipeg continues to be a very desirable place to raise a family and people want to live here. People are coming back from other places because of its affordability,” says Froese. “The national average was 1,700 square feet and we’re at 2,500 and change. That’s 45 per cent more home for that price. In a world right now with inflation and costing you $40 to go out for lunch and a Big Mac now is $8 – with all this stuff going on, affordability is huge and you can get good bang for your buck and you can get a good home in a good neighbourhood here and people are noticing this across the country.”
Searching for a supply solution
Whether your budget is $1 million or maybe lower, the demand for housing is still very strong and supply is not catching up.
“Demand is so strong, we just don’t have enough homes to meet the need. We don’t have enough supply to impact pricing and to bring demand down,” says Michael Froese, Winnipeg’s managing partner at Royal LePage Prime Real Estate.
While the federal government is looking at new initiatives to aid first-time home buyers and supply issues, and the City of Winnipeg is reviewing zoning regulations to allow for more lot density, it’s still not enough, says Froese.
“What needs to be looked at is permitting and how fast the red tape can allow new projects to come to market,” says Froese. “It takes years to pass a multi-family development – years of red tape and approvals to go through. That has to change if we want to address the supply issue more immediately. That’s something that is within our – the City, the people, RMs – power to do.”
