Manitoba’s Q4 2024 market update reveals a residential sector marked by modest sales growth, rising prices, and reduced inventory, while commercial segments – both office and industrial – demonstrate stability amid evolving market conditions.
Residential Market in Q4 2024
An Edge Realty Analytics report in March highlighted rising sales and decreasing inventory in Manitoba’s residential market for Q4 2024.
Sales
Residential sales increased by 4.7% quarter-over-quarter and by 16.9% year-over-year.
Listings
New listings rose slightly by 0.2% from Q3 2024; however, active listings fell by 7.3% sequentially and by 22.3% on a year-over-year basis, showing an overall contraction in market inventory.
The ratio of sales to new listings increased from 70.8% in Q3 2024 to 74.0% in Q4 2024. The months of inventory, or how long properties would likely be sold, given the current rate of sales, dropped from 2.3 in Q3 2024 to 2.1 in Q4 2024, further highlighting the absorbing market.
Prices
Home prices experienced an increase of 1.9% compared to the previous quarter and a robust 8.4% rise year-over-year.
Under Construction
The volume of under-construction housing decreased by 1.8% quarter-over-quarter and by a notable 14.1% year-over-year.
Economic Indicators
Manitoba’s population grew modestly by 0.4% quarter-over-quarter and 2.4% year-over-year. The unemployment rate edged up from 5.7% in Q3 2024 to 6.0% in Q4 2024. Meanwhile, mortgage arrears increased slightly from 0.30% to 0.31%.
Rental Market
According to Rentals.ca, in February 2025, in Winnipeg, the rental market showed growth. The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment stands at $1,426 per month, marking a 1.2% month-over-month increase and a 4.9% rise year-over-year. Two-bedroom apartments are averaging $1,744 per month, with a marginal 0.1% month-over-month increase and a slight 0.9% decline on a year-over-year basis.
Office Market in Q4 2024
The CBRE reports that in Winnipeg, the office market continues to show signs of recovery. Suburban office spaces are outperforming the downtown area, with suburban vacancy rates at 10.3%. The overall economic recovery has contributed to stabilizing vacancy rates and shifting market sentiment toward optimism. In Q4 2024, a notable flight-to-quality was observed as Class A assets outperformed other office segments, following similar trends seen in other cities around Canada.
Industrial Market in Q4 2024
Winnipeg’s industrial sector maintained stable availability rates, which capped 2024 at 3.2%. In Q4 2024, 200,000 square feet of new industrial supply was delivered, contributing to a year-end total of 519,000 square feet of new supply for the year. On the other hand, industrial development has slowed, with only 197,000 square feet currently under construction. Average net rental rates remained virtually unchanged, sitting at $10.97 per square foot in the fourth quarter.