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This article was published 16/10/2018 (709 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg home prices rose above the national average for the third quarter of 2018 despite falling condo prices, a Royal LePage national house survey says.

Home prices rose 3.3 per cent, versus a national average of 2.2 per cent, for the third quarter in 2018, compared to the same period last year.

Two-storey homes in Winnipeg went up 5.7 per cent, and bungalow prices were up slightly at 1.6 per cent, the survey found. Nationally, two-storey homes were up just 1.4 per cent, and bungalows up 1.5 per cent.

"On a grand scale, we’re doing very well," said Michael Froese, managing partner at Royal LePage. "It really speaks to the resiliency of Winnipeg, and the rest of Manitoba as well."

Sales are down by seven per cent for the year, but that hasn’t been a significant drag on prices, he said.

With upheavals in national markets, including oil pipeline issues, steel tariffs and trade threats from the United States, "Winnipeg seems to be this nice, little safe haven where prices are holding quite steady," Froese said.

The best price increases have been in Amber Trails, northwest of McPhillips Street, as well as neighbourhoods like River Heights, Riverview and North and East Kildonan, Froese said.

Darren Calabrese / THE CANADIAN PRESS files Winnipeg home prices rose 3.3 per cent in 2018’s third quarter over the same period last year.

However, where the Winnipeg market differed sharply with the national market was on condominiums. Condo prices fell 2.1 per cent in Winnipeg, versus a 6.7 per cent increase across Canada.

"Condos have had challenges over the last few years, one of them being increased supply," Froese said.

Many condos were built in 2017, and the market has yet to absorb that new inventory. New condos have gone up in places like Bridgwater and Sage Creek, and in Transcona with developments like Crocus Meadow and Starlight Village.

Changes to the Condominium Act, requiring condo projects to undergo a reserve fund study for anticipated repairs and maintenance, are also a factor, increasing condo fees at some projects.

"Condos have been hit with these two factors that have slowed their growth this year," Froese said. "That being said, it’s just like any market conditions. It just takes time to adjust to the new norms."

Double-digit price increases for houses from an overheated market disappeared from the market this year, thanks to the cooling effect of interventions like the federal government’s mortgage stress test and some local government measures. For example, a foreign buyer tax was introduced in both British Columbia and Ontario.

"Winnipeg is a Goldilocks market: not too hot, not too cold," Froese said.

The report attributes a healthy national housing market to strong job growth, an influx of immigrants and a large millennial cohort (people born between 1982 and 2004) putting pressure on housing stocks.

Royal LePage is projecting another uptick in prices nationally of 1.5 per cent in the fourth quarter.

bill.redekop@freepress.mb.ca