Winnipeg House Prices See Healthy Gain in the First Quarter as Buyers Adjust to OSFI Mortgage Regulations

Region expecting brisk sales activity and an uptick in prices during spring market

WINNIPEG, April 4, 2019 /CNW/ - According to the Royal LePage House Price Survey¹ released today, the aggregate price of a home in Winnipeg saw a moderate increase in the first quarter of 2019, rising 3.4 per cent year-over-year to $296,853.

The median price of a two-storey home increased 6.6 per cent year-over-year to $320,196 and the median price of a bungalow increased 2.0 per cent year-over-year to $287,132 during the same period. Meanwhile, the median price of a condominium decreased 9.3 per cent year-over-year to $224,967.

"Winnipeg is having a moment in the spotlight," said Michael Froese, managing partner, Royal LePage Prime Real Estate. "Winnipeg is recognized as a great place to live and work. We are seeing new businesses flourish and an expanding tourism sector. The region's brisk economic activity is supportive of a healthy real estate market."

On a quarter-over-quarter basis, the aggregate price of a home in Winnipeg is expected to appreciate 0.7 per cent to $299,074 in the second quarter of 2019.

"Inventory levels are moderately up but now sales have pulled even with inventory after record-breaking cold temperatures in February kept buyers away from the market," said Froese. "The Winnipeg real estate market will continue to tighten into spring as sales return to normal spring activity now that buyers have adjusted to the OSFI mortgage stress test measures introduced in January 2018."

Nationally, year-over-year home prices showed moderate gains in many regions across Canada in the first quarter of 2019. The Royal LePage National House Price Composite, compiled from proprietary property data in 63 of the nation's largest real estate markets, showed that the price of a home in Canada increased just 2.7 per cent year-over-year to $621,575 in the first quarter of 2019, well below the long-term norm of approximately 5 per cent. When broken out by housing type, the median price of a two-storey home rose 2.6 per cent year-over-year to $729,553, while the median price of a bungalow rose 1.1 per cent year-over-year to $513,497. Condominiums remained the fastest growing housing type on a national basis, rising 5.4 per cent year-over-year to $447,260.

"We are expecting this to be a sluggish year overall in Canada's residential real estate market, with the hangover from the 2018 market correction and weaker economic growth acting as a drag on home price appreciation, balanced by lower for longer interest rates," said Phil Soper, president and CEO, Royal LePage. "There is a silver lining here. This slowdown gives buyers, and first-time buyers in particular, an opportunity to buy real estate in our country's largest cities."

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¹ Aggregate prices are calculated using a weighted average of the median values of all housing types collected. Data is provided by RPS Real Property Solutions

SOURCE Royal LePage Real Estate Services

Angela Pinzon, Kaiser Lachance Communications, 647.295.0517, [email protected]