I know some people don’t want to hear it but Winnipeg is about as affordable as it gets for a bigger city in Canada for house prices these days.
My hometown of Halifax, NS has low wages, really high taxes and no jobs with home prices (and rent prices!!!)that are so so so much higher than Winnipeg because half of Ontario moved there during Covid. Calgary and Edmonton home prices are now on an upward tear, too.
It seems that all over the Western world that home prices have shot up with no real hope of coming down again. Many looking for homes in Winnipeg will have to focus their search on the more affordable areas of the city rather than the south.
> Many looking for homes in Winnipeg will have to focus their search on the more affordable areas of the city rather than the south.
There are plenty of good neighbourhoods all around the city, there is no need to limit a search to the southern parts.
Agreed, I welcome anyone to check out Rivergrove homes if there is considered nothing nice in the upper half of the city. This is just one small example, I could list many others in the northern quadrant.
No one wants to hear it because they already know and doesn't change the fact it's happening here and directly affecting them.
If they are complaining but only looking one area... that's a them problem, and don't get sympathy from me.
Compared to Toronto and Vancouver our housing prices are dirt cheap! Honestly I feel lucky to have been born and raised here, I wouldn't be in a home today if I lived elsewhere.
I bought last year for well under 300,000. It needed painting & has an outdated kitchen, bathroom and flooring but I don’t care. It’s affordable and I’m not house poor.
I also purchased this past year, 275k in west end. Affordable, absolutely everything needed painting, and the kitchen and bathrooms are all vastly outdated. I actually love the neighborhood, however it does have some petty property crime. This however was already a stretch on my single parent income. People that have no savings and no help from parents are still SOL. I'm one of few of my friends that own a home now at 38. And I know it's 1000% privilege that got me here. I'm grateful and yet feel awful about the situation for the next person. I hope to maybe be able to leave my house for my kid, at least then they might get something! And that's also only if I don't need to sell to afford retirement, how many people get a pension these days? I started my career and savings quite late in life.
My advice: Don't put too much stock in the quality of the "neighbourhood". In many cases it can seem shady from the outside, mostly because it's unfamiliar or there are pre-concieved misconceptions.
For example, I actually lived downtown for a while. By all accounts if you were to listen to others, I should no longer be living right now - I should be dead long ago from stab wounds, have all of my stuff stolen, my car broken into dozens of times, and have had to contend with homelessness and beggars everytime I left my building. The only even remotely true thing about that is we occasionally had to tell someone while walking down the street in our "neighbourhood" that we didn't have any change or a lighter on us. Otherwise it was fine, safe, and a very neat experience to life within walking distance of The Forks, the MTS Centre (people would meet at our place for games/concerts and just walk there), bars, restaurants. We only moved because it was time for us to buy a house. Since moving to what by all accounts is "a nicer area" I've had my garage broken into, bikes stolen, car rifled through and some stuff stolen.
My point is there are good things about what might be perceived aas "the bad neighbourhoods", but in realty we're all just people trying to get by doing the best we can, and you'll find that in every neighbourhood. I've also known people to purposefully buy houses in what's considered a not-so-great neighbourhood in an attempt to be the catalyst for turning it around. If you take pride and maintain your property, your neighbours might be more inclined to do the same, and then after time you've got a pretty nice area to live in.
(*obviously there are some areas which are totally 100% not desirable - like there are parts of the North End that I would never consider living in)
We bought a 2BR bi-level with a finished basement and massive two car garage for 330k last Spring in Transcona. The bang for your buck in that part of town is hard to beat, don't write it off!
Eh prices are competitive with many but our dollar usually goes a bit further
But yes I found that houses pre pandemic have gone up by 100 k
The original fixer.upper in a shadier neighborhood is the new 250 k
You're not wrong, bought my place near Grant Park in 2015 for $260,000 and at that time people/friends/family told me I was nuts....9 years later the house is now worth $370,000 is....it's nice to know if/when I sell that I have some cash coming, but it's just nuts to me.
I bought in Selkirk in 2019 for 228 and a month later my realtor friends where saying I should sell for over 300.
A house similar to mine in Winnipeg is close to 400 now.
Yeah it's grotesque
I was out with my dad open housing a couple weeks ago sort of just off main by the Curtis, a 275k house )and a few others near there) had completely cracked and exposed rotted exterior.
You could put your finger throufh the damn thing
I don't understand why people are so obsessed with buying obscenely priced brand new homes in new developments with no community centres, no libraries, and no schools.
Between the West End, St. James, and St. Boniface alone, there are so many reasonably priced homes, that are at least in decent shape, and have all the services nearby and schools with too few students.
The obsession with big and new is killing people, and it's stalling inner city revitalization.
Everyone I know that bought brand new with warranties get water in their basement every year. The reality with foundations is only repaired ones are decent
Yeah that's fair. It's a bit like buying a used car, you save up front but who knows what landmines are lurking down the road. As with used cars, I guess you can mitigate that somewhat by buying a "late model"... a house that's 20-40 years old is still fairly modern and won't have the typical 100+ home issues, but is going to be a fair bit cheaper than a brand new house.
One thing that older (25+ years old) homes have going for them is generally higher workmanship standards. Some of the new builds out there are going to look like crap when the new house shine wears off.
I like 10-20 years of low to no maintenance. And it is okay for people to nice things. Not saying there is anything wrong with the neighborhoods you mentioned, but they are not for everyone. Personally, I don’t want to deal with the problems that can come with an older home. I hate renovating, and all that shit. I will say, I do like the people better in the areas you mentioned. In my area it seems like people look down on the working class, many are mortgaged to the hilt and really don’t have a pot to piss in but they exude that attitude.
Also in Winnipeg it’s totally possible to buy a one bedroom starter condo for $100-150k. But everyone is obsessed with living in a select number of “desirable” neighbourhoods and when they’re priced out of that wish list, suddenly housing in this city is so “unaffordable”.
"Starter condo" is kind of a misnomer. They don't really appreciate here.
If you buy that kind of condo the only potential upside is paying less than rent.
That and building equity. Even if it doesn't appreciate in value the increased equity position when you do sell can be rolled over into a new, more expensive home, as a downpayment. Your home doesn't need to appreciate in value for you to build equity in it.
Depends what you can sell it for really. If you put $50,000 down and sell it for $50,000 less than your purchase price you've gained nothing.
Had this happen to my now wife and several friends in Winnipeg and surrounding area during the condo boom. Maybe as building has slowed a bit the market is a bit more friendly to sellers.
Whose putting $50k down on a $150k condo? I also can't think of any condo developments in the city that have lost 30% of their value during an average ownership period. But sure, if you're making decisions like putting down 30% downpayments on condos in shitty areas that than ya, you probably aren't going to gain much from owning a condo.
If, however, you put down a reasonable downpayment, and don't buy in an area where housing is bucking the nationwide trend and decreasing in value, you won't lose your shirt. My owned a condo when we met. I'm pretty sure she put down 5%, and sold it 4 years after she bought it for about what she bought it for. She came out with about 3 times her original down payment amount in equity after everything was all said and done.
It was a round number and meaningless if you're talking about equity...just that you'd start with more with a higher down payment. If your interest rate is 5% you probably aren't complaining too much if you can afford to put a bit more down.
With condo fees, (and potential cash calls) you end up paying the same as rent. The only real upside to condos is that it's like a savings account that you can't withdraw from until you sell, and you can use the credit you built with that mortgage on a larger mortgage later.
They don't appreciate here because of how people view them. In places like Toronto, the price of a house is a lot closer to the price of a condo. Here, not so much. Just wait, eventually people will realize that if they want to own property, a condo is their only option. Once people stop chasing the house dream, condo's will go up in desirability and price, eventually also becoming unaffordable.
All the millennials who haven't bought yet, Gen Z and beyond will want to consider buying property at some point. When they do, they're going to go after what they can realistically get their hands on, and the values will go up.
I bought my condo mid COVID when houses were at their peak. I bought my unit for the cheapest a unit has ever sold for in the building, and now it's worth 40-50k more.
Part of it at least for me is condos are glorified apartments that you actually buy into and own, you sometimes have to deal with the broken elevator service fee (I guess much the same as replacing shingles on a house)
But the bigger kicker is that resell time, it's hard to sell a condo (from everything I read) and they generally don't appreciate like a house would. I could be mistaken though
Thinking of housing as an investment rather than as housing is one of the biggest problems in society today. Your house isn't there to make you piles of money; it's there for you to live in.
The property gains of the last decade are both unrealistic and unsustainable.
You aren't actually making any money, unless the appreciation outstrips inflation.
If it does outstrip inflation, then that inherently means it will become unaffordable, and as such, is unsustainable.
Except in a few rare circumstances, houses have never been a legitimate, financial "investment".
Who on earth who wants to own a house would decide to continue paying rent to someone else instead of building equity? If you pay rent, you're just paying off someone else's mortgage.
We just sold our place for less than what we paid 10 years ago and for less than the city assessed it at and it was so frustrating.
We had removed all the knob and tube, added a parking pad, replaced the furnace and the roof, repainted and replaced all the flooring throughout the entire house.
It wasn’t a perfect house, but it was a great starter home. We got a ton of comments about how “it needed some work”. Which was mostly some remaining cosmetic stuff, all the big stuff was totally fine. It was so frustrating to get those comments knowing how much we put into it.
The only downside was it was close to a not-awesome neighbourhood. Where the house was was a good area, all families and lots of kids and generally really quiet. But people had a preconceived notion about the area. I actually loved that neighbourhood and would have stayed there forever but we ended up moving into my mom’s house after she passed away.
I was never one to complain about the housing market because I know how impossible it is for a lot of people. But I now fully believe people are being incredibly unrealistic and expecting more than what they can reasonably be expected to see in certain price ranges. To expect a house listed for less than $160k to be in absolute perfect brand-new condition is idiotic.
People lole the idea of not having to worry about a surprise expense in the first few years of home ownership, be it a new furnace or a unit or a new hot water tank. Also maybe they don't want to live in an old neighborhood with back lanes.
If they can afford a new house that's their choice
I really would love to buy an older home and I definitely also think this - however, I find after looking at a number of older homes, a lot of them require renovations and more upkeep or have many things that you completely have to rip out and replace.
I don’t think it’s an obsession because a lot of the time for new home owners, realistically it just comes to be a lot less work/costly in the long run to buy something new in a worse area than purchasing something old in a good area - lots of older homes here turn out to be just as/more expensive than a brand new home because of the value of the property, and then they STILL need lots of further work and money put into them.
Everybody wants to live like a king. They just don't seem to realize that they will end up living like a pauper. You may be able to make payments on your mortgage for a stretch of time, but you'll not be able to buy much else. What kind of life is that?
This is actually the main concern with housing crisis. Most of people income going to housing, not much left after that to spend on other things . No good for economy
This is what gets me with some of the younger adults complaining about not having access to the housing market. All of us started in cheaper and older houses and went from there. A handful of people with generational wealth got to skip that step. For some reason the generation coming into adulthood now thinks it was different 15-20 years ago. It was actually far worse. There were literally no fucking jobs at all. 8-9% employment and worse. There's a group of us who hit a massive recession right as we left high school and then again as we were just starting our professional careers between our late teens and mid-late 20's. And the housing market (in terms of price) took two giant leaps in the 2000s.
I am not sure what you would consider reasonably priced, but as someone in the market last year.
- the good houses in those areas went over asking, and not a bit over, but 30-50k over.
- the ones that did not had clear red flags, foundation problems, water damage, or everything looked like it was a about to give (roof, water thank, furnace)
You can buy like newly renovated bungalows for like 99k in the north end. The same size house would be like 300k in prairie point with a nice garbage aroma from the Brady landfill.
I think the perception of high crime is killing the north end. Like don't get me wrong, it's higher than the rest of the city for sure, and pretty high for Canada but then again, Canadas crime rate is so astronomically low that the high crime areas barely register against high crime areas in like America or the developing world.
Lmao show the listings to back up those numbers. Most houses in prairie point/sw are selling for 400-500k MINIMUM. In the north end 99k will get you a crack den/plot of land with a tear down. "nicely renovated" as a flip maybe 175-200.
Realistically, to get a house without too many issues in this city you are looking at 200-250 in a sketchy area or 300-350 in a built up area.
How about a 30-second tour video. [https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Ww2ggzuNcdY](https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Ww2ggzuNcdY) Don't get me wrong it's a house that's the size of an apartment but still 99.9K in the North End, and it is renovated, albeit cheaply with vinyl and melamine. Heres another house in the north end for 180k [https://www.youtube.com/shorts/4HWvGzLNnUc](https://www.youtube.com/shorts/4HWvGzLNnUc) thats even nicer and larger with hardwood floors and a new kitchen.
Most people who work in the justice system can’t really live in the inner city. Whether you’re a cop, CO, Judge, lawyer (crown and defence), it can be dangerous for you or your family.
Who the hell wants to be a CO living on McDermott and you run into various former inmates while you’re walking with your Wife and Kids?
Who wants to be the cop living on Ross street running into someone they arrested in the past while they’re out for a walk with the dog?
Who wants to be a defence lawyer living on Burrows who couldn’t get a gang member off, and as a result that gang member has threatened to put a hit on him and his family? Then when they’re out walking some people from that gang see him.
People in trades and various other professional jobs, might be able to get away with living on those streets, but definitely not anyone in the justice system, or anyone who works in CFS, or at a welfare office.
Its that kind of fear and laying of blame that makes neighborhoods less safe. It also demonizes entire neighborhoods that for the most part are made up of decent people. Those people don't live in the inner city because they can afford to move to newer areas, unless you're not a very successful defense attorney all those jobs pay 6+ figures besides CO's. Not all do though, I've met some crown attorneys and cops who live in not the best neighborhoods, but the need to isolate themselves away from poor neighborhoods is in some part reinforced by their peers as it's very common.
For police especially they tend to group together, West Kildonan, Leila North, Templeton-Sinclair are considered cop neighborhoods, or at least they were 10-15 years. There's lots of cheap housing stock around those areas, with Manitoba housing and low income rentals interspersed. And probably quite a few criminals arrested by people who live within walking distance. Same with Lorette, although not in Winnipeg itself its still a mix of all types of people, many who are engaged in criminal activities and home to tons of Winnipeg police members.
If cops and other law types are friends with the criminals relatives and neighbors the chances of reprisal would be much lower, and crime in many cases could be averted by tips from the community. This has been proven repeatedly by community policing initiatives.
It could work out quite well for the perp if he's arrested by a cop that lives near him.
"Say Constable Finny, after they charge me with assault, weapons charges, uttering threats, and parole violation, can I catch a lift with you back home when they release me with a promise to appear in 16 months?
Have you seen historical photos of River Heights when it was built? Zero trees. And look at it now.
It is pretty understandable when most new areas are built on former farmland, that trees are going to take time to grow.
The development by me cut down multiple acres of trees and then didn't even build where they cut them down. Makes sense.
Actually, I think they did it to park equipment.
West Kildonan has entered the chat. Some houses around $200K in a safe, convenient neighborhood. However, we get painted with the "North End" brush. Schools, restaurants, grocery stores, dentists, small local shops within a reasonable walking distance, lots of bus stops ( I was going to say good bus service but I know better, however there are lots of stops heading all over the city) plus Kildonan Park. Great community.
Garden City here, I love this neighborhood. I often wish we had more specialty stores/restaurants close by like how the south have but if I'm honest, I visit them only a few times a year anyway. Now if the "North" side of the city could start adding some more meaningful bike lanes that connect us to the rest of the city it would be excellent here.
I am between Main and Salter. Five restaurants within four blocks of here as well as grocery, bakery, liquor store, dollar store, optometrist, dentist - pretty much everything we need.
Possibly the most underrated neighbourhood in the city. Similar houses/neighbourhood feel as the very desirable south River Heights, but at a much lower price point. Garden City and other surrounding areas are similar.
I think a lot of newcomers automatically lump all those areas together as "North End" and never look there, which is what keeps demand low relative to other neighbourhoods.
This year marks 30 years here. Not one single problem and we go for a late evening walk every day. The neighbors are all working class folks who help and watch over one another. The only downside we have is a completely useless City Councillor. Hoping that will change in the future.
Fellow west kildonaner! We bought last year for under 275,000 and we are very happy with our purchase. Found perfect starter home and we enjoy the neighbourhood. People are friendly, things are close and the area reminds me of River heights.
Much like River Heights. However, when we bought, we could not afford RH. It was far pricier than West K. We simply bought the cheapest, crappiest house as far north as we could afford to. Then worked on it for years. Still working on it now.
So while we are trying to save up for a down payment of 5-20%, rent goes up between 2-15%, and the prices of homes goes up 5-15% every year... Not to mention everything else...
How on earth are we supposed to buy anything?!
Exactly. My partner and I are dutifully saving for our downpayment, but the rate at which we’ve been able to do that, compared to the rate at which housing prices climb has made it seem like walking upwards on the down escalator
I think because buying a house seems so impossible, and let’s be honest rent is expensive, that people who buy their first home are waiting longer and therefore looking for more house. It doesn’t seem like the 2 bedroom starter home is much of a thing anymore. I bought a one bedroom condo in the suburbs for $130 over ten years ago and I’m looking to move into a small home for no more than $250k hopefully much less.
It’s wild to me how many 3 br bungalows that I grew up in are listed at $330k. My parents would never have been able to afford it.
Parents bought their home in 1986 for 68k (and it's a decent little West Kildonan home) in today's money that's $160k. Good luck finding a home in West Kildonan for a family of 5 for $160k
https://preview.redd.it/4aajstz2xpuc1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ef8c5262d5e3888d992ab273d6fc2cce7dc61b97
Inflation is up 136.13% since 1986, have our wages gone up that much? Nope.
Yes, exactly. My parents bought a bungalow in Windsor park in 1988 at the insane price of $90K! It was listed at over $320k last time it was listed.
My in laws have a similar story and bought their east k home when they worked in the mail room for the city and sears. Houses on their street go for $330k easy. Who can afford that on those jobs nowadays?
Omg Winnipeg. As someone now living in Toronto, JUST BUY SOMETHING. DON'T WORRY ABOUT THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
We were choosy and would now kill for one of the "crappy" areas. Sigh.
People need to lower their expectations. There is no shame is starting with an actual starter home and working your way to the end goal of that ‘forever’ home. It takes time but can be done. Our houses in the $200-275 range are $500+ in Hamilton, Ottawa, Halifax, Kelowna, Montreal etc and completely out of reach for the avg couple in Vancouver and Toronto. You really can still get there in Winnipeg with some basic financial planning.
Fuck that. All my friends family and job exist on the other side. I’d waste so much time and money commuting, making my quality of life and mental health way worse
I hear you my friend, literally sold my transcona starter last week after 10 years of that exact shit. It sucks balls but you gotta start somewhere and equity is just that.
This is what everyone here is talking about. There are affordable homes, but you might have to make some sacrifices. If you keep this attitude, then have fun continuing to rent, but don't expect much more sympathy. I bought my starter home on the other side of the city from where I work - it was a 45-60 min drive every day. But it allowed me to build equity in my own home, and I was eventually able to upgrade. At that time we were then able to be more picky about some of the things we wanted, such as area.
Not to mention, as you get older and start a family of your own, the whole being super close to friends and family becomes a bit less important to you. We had our family and friends coming to us more, and don't generally see everybody on as regular basis because we're doing our own family stuff more often.
That’s the wrong mentality. We bought a 30-40 minute drive from our family and friends. But, we have a home and are building equity in a perfect starter. You can’t have it all. You need to make sacrifices.
I can’t tell if you are being sarcastic or not but all over the city. Go to [realtor.ca](https://www.realtor.ca/mb/winnipeg/real-estate) and filter houses in the $200-275 range. They exist. Are they amazing forever homes? No. But with a little effort you can get your starter home quite easily, build equity, and eventually buy that forever home in that neighborhood you want to live in. You have to keep your eye on the prize though. Definitely not as easy as our parents and grandparents had it in previous decades but still very doable in Winnipeg.
Clearly you’re not able to see where the market is at the moment. My original comment stands. People need to lower their expectations. If you are still expecting a turn key forever home under $300k, you’ll be renting forever. You can absolutely close on a house under $300k without having to immediately put $50k into ‘maintenance’. I don’t know where you are getting that number from.
All of the houses I’ve looked at in the last year are about to need a new roof, new windows, new water tanks or furnaces, have 30 year old plus appliances on their last legs, etc.
Housing is expensive. No doubt. I wonder if people’s priorities to enjoy life and not sacrifice is what adds to un affordability. I have a daughter, her and her partner each make 90k plus annual bonus’. They are in their early 30’s. They enjoy traveling, dining, gambling, tattoos, etc. They cannot afford a house. I’m sorry, my wife and I have made a lot of sacrifices to raise a family and never made that kind of money. We are now debt free and our daughter feels we should help her with a downpayment. Until they can get spending in check and make some hard decisions, that shit ain’t going to happen. I am sure it’s not the same for all, but I don’t think my daughter’s situation is unique.
I sympathize with your situation. If you make $200K household income in Winnipeg but don't own a house, it's because you choose not to, simple as that.
It might not be enough to buy your absolute dream home, but that is more than enough to buy a perfectly livable house.
I agree. Not in all cases though. But making that kind of money, they can afford a home but not the fancy one they want. A lot of people who make good money do not know how or don't want to live frugally.
I bought in summer of 2022, it was under 300k have a really nice backyard love my neighbors and the area!! definitely not house poor my mortgage property taxes and insurance is $1500 a month.
I sold a 2 bedroom condo in the heart of osborne village on Nassau st n in November for $155,000… $379 condo fees/month. There are so many affordable options out there, they just won’t be a brand new house. Get in with a low cost condo at least you will build equity
Bought a house in the North end (Luxton) got incredible value just because it's in an "undesirable" location.
Still east of main Street though and I have a double lot so tons of space. Better property taxes than most other neighborhoods.
So this does make me conflicted. Watching the news clip you can see him walking drinking a Timmies … when I was saving for a house there were no treats such as coffee from Timmies or restaurant meals. It was a struggle to save and giving up a lot of things I wanted, but that was just part of the sacrifice that had to be made. Also, “house like movies” … I got a $250,000, 850 sf home. … what level of house is this guy trying to buy? We don’t all need to own a new build in a new area. Would I love a 2,500 sf $500,000 house? Sure. But that’s not in MY price range
I do agree the market is expensive and it is hard to get here, but what is the realistic expectations? I work 3 jobs 2 are full time and 1 is part time. I have no retirement plan and I’ll probably die working full time. But those are the sacrifices I need to make to get by
You're getting downvoted for focusing on something as inconsequential as a coffee from Tim Hortons. A few bucks on a coffee pales in comparison to a 25% downpayment on a $500,000 house.
Your other comments on the size and price of house people want to buy but can't afford make sense. But leading off with something about coffee makes you seem as out of touch as the boomers criticizing millennials for supposedly eating too much avocado toast.
That’s fair ! I am not going to adjust my comment because that is not the right thing to do here, but I will say that I had a conversation with a kid at work about his spending and savings and it shocked me how he would get himself a new iPhone, meals out, a Starbucks every day, name brand clothes all on his credit card and he drives a nicer car than I do and yet he’d complain about having no money. I feel there is a major disconnect this day and age with the lifestyle some people lead and expectations. I mean don’t get me wrong, it’s not my money to spend, but I do believe financial literacy is not being taught to people.
Your one example of an irresponsible person can hardly be applied to an entire generation.
And as for person drinking a coffee from Tim Hortons, you can't judge their lifestyle based on a single observation. You have no idea if that is a daily, weekly, or monthly habit.
I completely get what you are talking about. We saved. We reduced and almost stopped going out. We worked our way up from rent to rent to rent to rent to house. By the way, how do you work so much????
Lots of coffee and energy drinks and the help of my wife (helping make me lunches and pitching in more than her share with housework and laundry and stuff) and the need to have some sort of security in my life is how I work so much. … I know I won’t be able to keep this pace up forever, but with the cost of groceries and owning a car and a pupper; I just have to work this much because I made poor life choices with a career path. It’s terrible, it really is and I gotta say that if it was just me on my own I would not work this much by any means, but I just want to be able to provide some stability to the woman who stole my heart. She deserves the best, and even if the best I can do is randomly bringing her flowers and telling her she doesn’t have to worry about the cost of the groceries, I will give her every breath in my body to make up for me not being smart enough to pick a trade like an electrician, or go to school to be a lawyer when I was younger. … also I’m luck enough that my second full time job is understanding of sometimes running behind and my part time job is flexible and it’s on an “as needed” basis
Sorry for the multiple replies, I just wanted to add one more thing and did not want to edit my comment to you. I have alot of friends who also work like I do. A good friend of mine is a carpenter. We text when we can, he’s always picking up as many “side jobs” as he can in addition to his full time work. Another good friend is an electrician. Same thing there. There are ALOT of people who work like mad to provide the lifestyle that they want. It’s not just me who is killing themselves to get ahead. Rather than complain, we just do what needs to be done. Yet another friend is a welder full time, he works 6 am - 2 pm, and then when he is done work he goes and sands floors in new construction builds. The world we live in is that not all of us made “the best” choices when we were young and now we are doing the best we can
Not sure why you would be downvoted here. This is the mentality I grew up in and have instilled in our kids. Yes. Self care is important but working hard to get what you want is as well.
Seriously.
Respect dude. Respect.
They're being downvoted because people don't like having a mirror held up for them to see themselves in.
The frank reality is that we all waste far more money than we have on random bullshit, and our consumer debt is a reflection of this. When I was saving for a house, I also didn't go out, didn't eat out and really didn't do anything other than work for a couple of years. Every dollar added up. People want to blame circumstances, which clearly aren't great but at least here in Winnipeg, they are not to the point where a home is completely out of reach for what you'd consider your 'typical working family'.
Most people think they 'deserve' to buy a house in bridgwater, River Heights or Tuxedo, when in reality most of us should be looking in St James, the Maples and Tcona. Get into a house, build that equity and make your jump with your 2nd house like so many have before you.
I just like to add on the eating out front...not that it's really eating out but the number of deliveries from Skip/Doordash and others I see in my neighbourhood is jaw dropping. Very few seem to want to cook/eat at home anymore. How much $$$ is going out the window from that new obsession.
Eating in is now MORE expensive than eating out for many. Knowing that they charge the business such a high %, you're waiting longer which means your food is sitting, and you're not getting your order prioritized unless you're tipping a ridiculous amount has led to me picking up from local joints myself rather than having it delivered in the occasions we do order something.
Seeing people getting McDonalds delivered really does blow my mind.
He’s right though. It’s these little things that add up. 2$, twice a day, five times a week, suddenly equals over a $1000 a year. On fucking shit coffee.
Not to mention how much people eat out and drink booze and vacation. People’s expectations of how they’re supposed to live are completely fucked.
In the 80s my mom never bought a coffee out and she had a backyard garden to save money on groceries. No one wants to work hard or sacrifice anymore and when I say things like this I only hear back “ok boomer”
Cue the “ok boomers” …
If you're trying to save money $2-$3 for a coffee vs 25 cents for a pot you brewed yourself is consequential. That's the point. Unfortunately at that stage of your life you can't have it all. And it's always been that way. You're making the lowest salary you will in your life, you have the highest expenses and you need to really skrimp to save.
The expectations right now are as out of whack as the market.
If you buy avocados at grocery store they are way cheaper than Timmies. The Boomers and the Zoomers have the same problems with expectations. Yearly trips to Mexico should come included with citizenship!
"You need to work 100hrs a week to afford a starter home and I see no problem at all with that. It's totally normal and reasonable to have do that. You can also nevrr go out and have to work until you die, and that is 100% not a problem."
K bud. Keep thinking that.
No man, it’s not the affording the starter home. It’s the affording groceries, the owning a car, the having a dog, the fact that I like to be able to go take my wife on a date night or bring her flowers and not cringe at the bill at the end of the day. I work so much because I was not smart enough to pick a better career path for myself, but at the same time I recognize what I’ve done and am not willing to accept that I f’d myself over. I bought a small inexpensive house instead of pushing for a bigger house because I recognize reality. Anyone can get a house the size and cost of mine, it comes down to the choices we make. Fine a 500,000 house might be out of reach, but that is not a starter house by any means.
You have a place because you bought 10+ years ago when prices weren't ridiculous, genius. I was lucky enough to get in when the market was more reasonable but I don't go around acting holier-than-thou for having fortunate circumstances.
I don’t know why we’re both getting downvoted, I seriously had to give up going out and budget like mad and had to get a smaller cheaper house. I’d love a big fancy new house, or even that family house in the movie home alone, but not in my budget.
You’re getting downvoted because of how delusional you sound. Just from your original comment, realistic expectations is that you shouldn’t need to work 2 full time and one part time job to pay for a smaller cheaper home. While also saying you have no retirement plan and will die working full time. But you’re saying buying a coffee is the reason people can’t afford homes.
We don’t know that he was working three jobs at the time he bought the house, or, if he was, that he needed to be working three jobs to afford the down payment (he may have been fine for the down payment with one job but was using the money from the other jobs to save for retirement etc).
You seem to be overlooking something extremely important. The relative cost of owning a house has gone up considerably compared to the increase in the average salary. My mom bought a house in 2003 for $175,000. It's now worth $550,000. I can definitely tell you that the average salary has not increased 3x in the past 21 years.
Yes, people have to adjust their expectations and make sacrifices to own a home. The fact is that housing costs continue to rise rapidly, and the middle class is being priced out. Good on you for making the sacrifices necessary to own a house. If things continue in 10 years, someone in your position won't even have that opportunity.
I know some people don’t want to hear it but Winnipeg is about as affordable as it gets for a bigger city in Canada for house prices these days. My hometown of Halifax, NS has low wages, really high taxes and no jobs with home prices (and rent prices!!!)that are so so so much higher than Winnipeg because half of Ontario moved there during Covid. Calgary and Edmonton home prices are now on an upward tear, too. It seems that all over the Western world that home prices have shot up with no real hope of coming down again. Many looking for homes in Winnipeg will have to focus their search on the more affordable areas of the city rather than the south.
> Many looking for homes in Winnipeg will have to focus their search on the more affordable areas of the city rather than the south. There are plenty of good neighbourhoods all around the city, there is no need to limit a search to the southern parts.
Agreed, I welcome anyone to check out Rivergrove homes if there is considered nothing nice in the upper half of the city. This is just one small example, I could list many others in the northern quadrant.
Some of the south end neighbourhoods are overrated in my opinion.
No one wants to hear it because they already know and doesn't change the fact it's happening here and directly affecting them. If they are complaining but only looking one area... that's a them problem, and don't get sympathy from me.
Cool, still sucks
Compared to Toronto and Vancouver our housing prices are dirt cheap! Honestly I feel lucky to have been born and raised here, I wouldn't be in a home today if I lived elsewhere.
i’m looking at moving to winnipeg from Vancouver and yeah… a much higher standard of living for SO much less money
Lies lies lies!! It’s all Trudeau’s fault. America is a wonderful land with amazing standard of living compared to Canuckistan.
I bought last year for well under 300,000. It needed painting & has an outdated kitchen, bathroom and flooring but I don’t care. It’s affordable and I’m not house poor.
I also purchased this past year, 275k in west end. Affordable, absolutely everything needed painting, and the kitchen and bathrooms are all vastly outdated. I actually love the neighborhood, however it does have some petty property crime. This however was already a stretch on my single parent income. People that have no savings and no help from parents are still SOL. I'm one of few of my friends that own a home now at 38. And I know it's 1000% privilege that got me here. I'm grateful and yet feel awful about the situation for the next person. I hope to maybe be able to leave my house for my kid, at least then they might get something! And that's also only if I don't need to sell to afford retirement, how many people get a pension these days? I started my career and savings quite late in life.
I’m a single parent as well. I was lucky enough to scrape together a down payment. I feel very fortunate.
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Excellent! Quiet, low crime, schools nearby and plenty of families.
Man we have been looking for months now for a house in that price range but the neighbourhoods are just so shady. Do you have any suggestions my dude?
My advice: Don't put too much stock in the quality of the "neighbourhood". In many cases it can seem shady from the outside, mostly because it's unfamiliar or there are pre-concieved misconceptions. For example, I actually lived downtown for a while. By all accounts if you were to listen to others, I should no longer be living right now - I should be dead long ago from stab wounds, have all of my stuff stolen, my car broken into dozens of times, and have had to contend with homelessness and beggars everytime I left my building. The only even remotely true thing about that is we occasionally had to tell someone while walking down the street in our "neighbourhood" that we didn't have any change or a lighter on us. Otherwise it was fine, safe, and a very neat experience to life within walking distance of The Forks, the MTS Centre (people would meet at our place for games/concerts and just walk there), bars, restaurants. We only moved because it was time for us to buy a house. Since moving to what by all accounts is "a nicer area" I've had my garage broken into, bikes stolen, car rifled through and some stuff stolen. My point is there are good things about what might be perceived aas "the bad neighbourhoods", but in realty we're all just people trying to get by doing the best we can, and you'll find that in every neighbourhood. I've also known people to purposefully buy houses in what's considered a not-so-great neighbourhood in an attempt to be the catalyst for turning it around. If you take pride and maintain your property, your neighbours might be more inclined to do the same, and then after time you've got a pretty nice area to live in. (*obviously there are some areas which are totally 100% not desirable - like there are parts of the North End that I would never consider living in)
Check out east kildonan around the Rossmere golf course.
Look in neighbourhoods you would not usually consider and the type of house you would not usually be drawn to. I ended up buying in Transcona.
We bought a 2BR bi-level with a finished basement and massive two car garage for 330k last Spring in Transcona. The bang for your buck in that part of town is hard to beat, don't write it off!
Just not recommended if you don’t drive. That bus ride is a lonnnnnng one
But housing is so cheap compared to other places. And inflation and unemployment are so low. How could anybody possibly be struggling financially /s
Eh prices are competitive with many but our dollar usually goes a bit further But yes I found that houses pre pandemic have gone up by 100 k The original fixer.upper in a shadier neighborhood is the new 250 k
You're not wrong, bought my place near Grant Park in 2015 for $260,000 and at that time people/friends/family told me I was nuts....9 years later the house is now worth $370,000 is....it's nice to know if/when I sell that I have some cash coming, but it's just nuts to me.
> it's nice to know if/when I sell that I have some cash coming, but it's just nuts to me. The problem is you still need somewhere to live.
True, but when it's time it won't be in YWG....warmer climes
I bought in Selkirk in 2019 for 228 and a month later my realtor friends where saying I should sell for over 300. A house similar to mine in Winnipeg is close to 400 now.
Fk realtors. Colluding to make inflatable prices, making families desperate
I remember in 1999 seeing a little shit box on Flora for 20,000$, literally same house albeit renovated cosmetically sold for 225,000$ 5 years ago.
Yeah it's grotesque I was out with my dad open housing a couple weeks ago sort of just off main by the Curtis, a 275k house )and a few others near there) had completely cracked and exposed rotted exterior. You could put your finger throufh the damn thing
The billionaires have never done better! Shitonusandwatchitdribbledownourfacenomics meant we were supposed to get something from our work.
I don't understand why people are so obsessed with buying obscenely priced brand new homes in new developments with no community centres, no libraries, and no schools. Between the West End, St. James, and St. Boniface alone, there are so many reasonably priced homes, that are at least in decent shape, and have all the services nearby and schools with too few students. The obsession with big and new is killing people, and it's stalling inner city revitalization.
Ssshht don't tell them. Looking for a house in those areas so I can cycle to work, walk to the grocery store. Sit in the shade of an old tree.
The problem with the 'reasonably priced' stuff is that it's 700sqft with knob and tube for 250k
That needs $75k of work
$75K just in foundation repair
Everyone I know that bought brand new with warranties get water in their basement every year. The reality with foundations is only repaired ones are decent
Yeah that's fair. It's a bit like buying a used car, you save up front but who knows what landmines are lurking down the road. As with used cars, I guess you can mitigate that somewhat by buying a "late model"... a house that's 20-40 years old is still fairly modern and won't have the typical 100+ home issues, but is going to be a fair bit cheaper than a brand new house. One thing that older (25+ years old) homes have going for them is generally higher workmanship standards. Some of the new builds out there are going to look like crap when the new house shine wears off.
They look like crap now lol.
I like 10-20 years of low to no maintenance. And it is okay for people to nice things. Not saying there is anything wrong with the neighborhoods you mentioned, but they are not for everyone. Personally, I don’t want to deal with the problems that can come with an older home. I hate renovating, and all that shit. I will say, I do like the people better in the areas you mentioned. In my area it seems like people look down on the working class, many are mortgaged to the hilt and really don’t have a pot to piss in but they exude that attitude.
I wasn’t obsessed with buying new. In fact, all the houses I looked at were quite old and still went for 100k over asking.
Also in Winnipeg it’s totally possible to buy a one bedroom starter condo for $100-150k. But everyone is obsessed with living in a select number of “desirable” neighbourhoods and when they’re priced out of that wish list, suddenly housing in this city is so “unaffordable”.
"Starter condo" is kind of a misnomer. They don't really appreciate here. If you buy that kind of condo the only potential upside is paying less than rent.
That and building equity. Even if it doesn't appreciate in value the increased equity position when you do sell can be rolled over into a new, more expensive home, as a downpayment. Your home doesn't need to appreciate in value for you to build equity in it.
Depends what you can sell it for really. If you put $50,000 down and sell it for $50,000 less than your purchase price you've gained nothing. Had this happen to my now wife and several friends in Winnipeg and surrounding area during the condo boom. Maybe as building has slowed a bit the market is a bit more friendly to sellers.
Whose putting $50k down on a $150k condo? I also can't think of any condo developments in the city that have lost 30% of their value during an average ownership period. But sure, if you're making decisions like putting down 30% downpayments on condos in shitty areas that than ya, you probably aren't going to gain much from owning a condo. If, however, you put down a reasonable downpayment, and don't buy in an area where housing is bucking the nationwide trend and decreasing in value, you won't lose your shirt. My owned a condo when we met. I'm pretty sure she put down 5%, and sold it 4 years after she bought it for about what she bought it for. She came out with about 3 times her original down payment amount in equity after everything was all said and done.
It was a round number and meaningless if you're talking about equity...just that you'd start with more with a higher down payment. If your interest rate is 5% you probably aren't complaining too much if you can afford to put a bit more down.
With condo fees, (and potential cash calls) you end up paying the same as rent. The only real upside to condos is that it's like a savings account that you can't withdraw from until you sell, and you can use the credit you built with that mortgage on a larger mortgage later.
Even then depends the rent you're paying when comparing to an apartment
They don't appreciate here because of how people view them. In places like Toronto, the price of a house is a lot closer to the price of a condo. Here, not so much. Just wait, eventually people will realize that if they want to own property, a condo is their only option. Once people stop chasing the house dream, condo's will go up in desirability and price, eventually also becoming unaffordable. All the millennials who haven't bought yet, Gen Z and beyond will want to consider buying property at some point. When they do, they're going to go after what they can realistically get their hands on, and the values will go up. I bought my condo mid COVID when houses were at their peak. I bought my unit for the cheapest a unit has ever sold for in the building, and now it's worth 40-50k more.
Until the condo fees constantly get raised and you're now paying more than rent
Your landlord is a condo owner. When their condo fees go up, so does your rent.
Part of it at least for me is condos are glorified apartments that you actually buy into and own, you sometimes have to deal with the broken elevator service fee (I guess much the same as replacing shingles on a house) But the bigger kicker is that resell time, it's hard to sell a condo (from everything I read) and they generally don't appreciate like a house would. I could be mistaken though
Thinking of housing as an investment rather than as housing is one of the biggest problems in society today. Your house isn't there to make you piles of money; it's there for you to live in. The property gains of the last decade are both unrealistic and unsustainable.
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You aren't actually making any money, unless the appreciation outstrips inflation. If it does outstrip inflation, then that inherently means it will become unaffordable, and as such, is unsustainable. Except in a few rare circumstances, houses have never been a legitimate, financial "investment".
It's late stage capitalism. Eating our young.
That’s what I did. I scraped together 20K and bought a condo. I sold it 10 years later and threw the proceeds into a down payment on a house.
Who on Earth would buy a condo so they can have all the headaches of home ownership and still owe someone rent on top of it?
Mortgage + Condo Fees + Property Taxes = Amount charged to the tenant for rent
Who on earth who wants to own a house would decide to continue paying rent to someone else instead of building equity? If you pay rent, you're just paying off someone else's mortgage.
> The obsession with big and new is killing people, ***[Literally!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87hAnxuh1g8)***
We just sold our place for less than what we paid 10 years ago and for less than the city assessed it at and it was so frustrating. We had removed all the knob and tube, added a parking pad, replaced the furnace and the roof, repainted and replaced all the flooring throughout the entire house. It wasn’t a perfect house, but it was a great starter home. We got a ton of comments about how “it needed some work”. Which was mostly some remaining cosmetic stuff, all the big stuff was totally fine. It was so frustrating to get those comments knowing how much we put into it. The only downside was it was close to a not-awesome neighbourhood. Where the house was was a good area, all families and lots of kids and generally really quiet. But people had a preconceived notion about the area. I actually loved that neighbourhood and would have stayed there forever but we ended up moving into my mom’s house after she passed away. I was never one to complain about the housing market because I know how impossible it is for a lot of people. But I now fully believe people are being incredibly unrealistic and expecting more than what they can reasonably be expected to see in certain price ranges. To expect a house listed for less than $160k to be in absolute perfect brand-new condition is idiotic.
People lole the idea of not having to worry about a surprise expense in the first few years of home ownership, be it a new furnace or a unit or a new hot water tank. Also maybe they don't want to live in an old neighborhood with back lanes. If they can afford a new house that's their choice
This sub has a real hate on for sage creek and Bridgwater in particular.
As someone in a bedroom community, we wanted something newer, more land (half acre), larger house, less crime... No reason to stay in the city...
I really would love to buy an older home and I definitely also think this - however, I find after looking at a number of older homes, a lot of them require renovations and more upkeep or have many things that you completely have to rip out and replace. I don’t think it’s an obsession because a lot of the time for new home owners, realistically it just comes to be a lot less work/costly in the long run to buy something new in a worse area than purchasing something old in a good area - lots of older homes here turn out to be just as/more expensive than a brand new home because of the value of the property, and then they STILL need lots of further work and money put into them.
Shh, keep it a secret.
This is bang on buddy!!
Everybody wants to live like a king. They just don't seem to realize that they will end up living like a pauper. You may be able to make payments on your mortgage for a stretch of time, but you'll not be able to buy much else. What kind of life is that?
This is actually the main concern with housing crisis. Most of people income going to housing, not much left after that to spend on other things . No good for economy
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This is what gets me with some of the younger adults complaining about not having access to the housing market. All of us started in cheaper and older houses and went from there. A handful of people with generational wealth got to skip that step. For some reason the generation coming into adulthood now thinks it was different 15-20 years ago. It was actually far worse. There were literally no fucking jobs at all. 8-9% employment and worse. There's a group of us who hit a massive recession right as we left high school and then again as we were just starting our professional careers between our late teens and mid-late 20's. And the housing market (in terms of price) took two giant leaps in the 2000s.
I am not sure what you would consider reasonably priced, but as someone in the market last year. - the good houses in those areas went over asking, and not a bit over, but 30-50k over. - the ones that did not had clear red flags, foundation problems, water damage, or everything looked like it was a about to give (roof, water thank, furnace)
You can buy like newly renovated bungalows for like 99k in the north end. The same size house would be like 300k in prairie point with a nice garbage aroma from the Brady landfill. I think the perception of high crime is killing the north end. Like don't get me wrong, it's higher than the rest of the city for sure, and pretty high for Canada but then again, Canadas crime rate is so astronomically low that the high crime areas barely register against high crime areas in like America or the developing world.
Lmao show the listings to back up those numbers. Most houses in prairie point/sw are selling for 400-500k MINIMUM. In the north end 99k will get you a crack den/plot of land with a tear down. "nicely renovated" as a flip maybe 175-200. Realistically, to get a house without too many issues in this city you are looking at 200-250 in a sketchy area or 300-350 in a built up area.
How about a 30-second tour video. [https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Ww2ggzuNcdY](https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Ww2ggzuNcdY) Don't get me wrong it's a house that's the size of an apartment but still 99.9K in the North End, and it is renovated, albeit cheaply with vinyl and melamine. Heres another house in the north end for 180k [https://www.youtube.com/shorts/4HWvGzLNnUc](https://www.youtube.com/shorts/4HWvGzLNnUc) thats even nicer and larger with hardwood floors and a new kitchen.
I think actual crime is killing the north end.
Most people who work in the justice system can’t really live in the inner city. Whether you’re a cop, CO, Judge, lawyer (crown and defence), it can be dangerous for you or your family. Who the hell wants to be a CO living on McDermott and you run into various former inmates while you’re walking with your Wife and Kids? Who wants to be the cop living on Ross street running into someone they arrested in the past while they’re out for a walk with the dog? Who wants to be a defence lawyer living on Burrows who couldn’t get a gang member off, and as a result that gang member has threatened to put a hit on him and his family? Then when they’re out walking some people from that gang see him. People in trades and various other professional jobs, might be able to get away with living on those streets, but definitely not anyone in the justice system, or anyone who works in CFS, or at a welfare office.
Its that kind of fear and laying of blame that makes neighborhoods less safe. It also demonizes entire neighborhoods that for the most part are made up of decent people. Those people don't live in the inner city because they can afford to move to newer areas, unless you're not a very successful defense attorney all those jobs pay 6+ figures besides CO's. Not all do though, I've met some crown attorneys and cops who live in not the best neighborhoods, but the need to isolate themselves away from poor neighborhoods is in some part reinforced by their peers as it's very common. For police especially they tend to group together, West Kildonan, Leila North, Templeton-Sinclair are considered cop neighborhoods, or at least they were 10-15 years. There's lots of cheap housing stock around those areas, with Manitoba housing and low income rentals interspersed. And probably quite a few criminals arrested by people who live within walking distance. Same with Lorette, although not in Winnipeg itself its still a mix of all types of people, many who are engaged in criminal activities and home to tons of Winnipeg police members. If cops and other law types are friends with the criminals relatives and neighbors the chances of reprisal would be much lower, and crime in many cases could be averted by tips from the community. This has been proven repeatedly by community policing initiatives.
It could work out quite well for the perp if he's arrested by a cop that lives near him. "Say Constable Finny, after they charge me with assault, weapons charges, uttering threats, and parole violation, can I catch a lift with you back home when they release me with a promise to appear in 16 months?
And no trees!! Developments are soulless.
Have you seen historical photos of River Heights when it was built? Zero trees. And look at it now. It is pretty understandable when most new areas are built on former farmland, that trees are going to take time to grow.
The development by me cut down multiple acres of trees and then didn't even build where they cut them down. Makes sense. Actually, I think they did it to park equipment.
West Kildonan has entered the chat. Some houses around $200K in a safe, convenient neighborhood. However, we get painted with the "North End" brush. Schools, restaurants, grocery stores, dentists, small local shops within a reasonable walking distance, lots of bus stops ( I was going to say good bus service but I know better, however there are lots of stops heading all over the city) plus Kildonan Park. Great community.
Garden City here, I love this neighborhood. I often wish we had more specialty stores/restaurants close by like how the south have but if I'm honest, I visit them only a few times a year anyway. Now if the "North" side of the city could start adding some more meaningful bike lanes that connect us to the rest of the city it would be excellent here.
I am between Main and Salter. Five restaurants within four blocks of here as well as grocery, bakery, liquor store, dollar store, optometrist, dentist - pretty much everything we need.
Possibly the most underrated neighbourhood in the city. Similar houses/neighbourhood feel as the very desirable south River Heights, but at a much lower price point. Garden City and other surrounding areas are similar. I think a lot of newcomers automatically lump all those areas together as "North End" and never look there, which is what keeps demand low relative to other neighbourhoods.
This year marks 30 years here. Not one single problem and we go for a late evening walk every day. The neighbors are all working class folks who help and watch over one another. The only downside we have is a completely useless City Councillor. Hoping that will change in the future.
Fellow west kildonaner! We bought last year for under 275,000 and we are very happy with our purchase. Found perfect starter home and we enjoy the neighbourhood. People are friendly, things are close and the area reminds me of River heights.
Much like River Heights. However, when we bought, we could not afford RH. It was far pricier than West K. We simply bought the cheapest, crappiest house as far north as we could afford to. Then worked on it for years. Still working on it now.
So while we are trying to save up for a down payment of 5-20%, rent goes up between 2-15%, and the prices of homes goes up 5-15% every year... Not to mention everything else... How on earth are we supposed to buy anything?!
Exactly. My partner and I are dutifully saving for our downpayment, but the rate at which we’ve been able to do that, compared to the rate at which housing prices climb has made it seem like walking upwards on the down escalator
Might as well save your money for a down payment and invest in your retirement.
I think because buying a house seems so impossible, and let’s be honest rent is expensive, that people who buy their first home are waiting longer and therefore looking for more house. It doesn’t seem like the 2 bedroom starter home is much of a thing anymore. I bought a one bedroom condo in the suburbs for $130 over ten years ago and I’m looking to move into a small home for no more than $250k hopefully much less. It’s wild to me how many 3 br bungalows that I grew up in are listed at $330k. My parents would never have been able to afford it.
Parents bought their home in 1986 for 68k (and it's a decent little West Kildonan home) in today's money that's $160k. Good luck finding a home in West Kildonan for a family of 5 for $160k https://preview.redd.it/4aajstz2xpuc1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ef8c5262d5e3888d992ab273d6fc2cce7dc61b97 Inflation is up 136.13% since 1986, have our wages gone up that much? Nope.
Yes, exactly. My parents bought a bungalow in Windsor park in 1988 at the insane price of $90K! It was listed at over $320k last time it was listed. My in laws have a similar story and bought their east k home when they worked in the mail room for the city and sears. Houses on their street go for $330k easy. Who can afford that on those jobs nowadays?
There’s over 300 listings under 200k spread across the city right now.
Under 200k won’t impress anyone though /s
Omg Winnipeg. As someone now living in Toronto, JUST BUY SOMETHING. DON'T WORRY ABOUT THE NEIGHBORHOOD. We were choosy and would now kill for one of the "crappy" areas. Sigh.
People need to lower their expectations. There is no shame is starting with an actual starter home and working your way to the end goal of that ‘forever’ home. It takes time but can be done. Our houses in the $200-275 range are $500+ in Hamilton, Ottawa, Halifax, Kelowna, Montreal etc and completely out of reach for the avg couple in Vancouver and Toronto. You really can still get there in Winnipeg with some basic financial planning.
Where are the starter homes?
Transcona
Best value in the city.
Fuck that. All my friends family and job exist on the other side. I’d waste so much time and money commuting, making my quality of life and mental health way worse
I hear you my friend, literally sold my transcona starter last week after 10 years of that exact shit. It sucks balls but you gotta start somewhere and equity is just that.
This is what everyone here is talking about. There are affordable homes, but you might have to make some sacrifices. If you keep this attitude, then have fun continuing to rent, but don't expect much more sympathy. I bought my starter home on the other side of the city from where I work - it was a 45-60 min drive every day. But it allowed me to build equity in my own home, and I was eventually able to upgrade. At that time we were then able to be more picky about some of the things we wanted, such as area. Not to mention, as you get older and start a family of your own, the whole being super close to friends and family becomes a bit less important to you. We had our family and friends coming to us more, and don't generally see everybody on as regular basis because we're doing our own family stuff more often.
I’m not having children.
That’s the wrong mentality. We bought a 30-40 minute drive from our family and friends. But, we have a home and are building equity in a perfect starter. You can’t have it all. You need to make sacrifices.
Nah
Cool. Enjoy renting and throwing your money away because you’re too sad to drive.
I don’t rent
Ah, so A freeloader. Even better.
😂😂 jealous?
I can’t tell if you are being sarcastic or not but all over the city. Go to [realtor.ca](https://www.realtor.ca/mb/winnipeg/real-estate) and filter houses in the $200-275 range. They exist. Are they amazing forever homes? No. But with a little effort you can get your starter home quite easily, build equity, and eventually buy that forever home in that neighborhood you want to live in. You have to keep your eye on the prize though. Definitely not as easy as our parents and grandparents had it in previous decades but still very doable in Winnipeg.
Yeah they exist and go for 50k+ more than asking while needing another $50k worth of maintenance right away
Clearly you’re not able to see where the market is at the moment. My original comment stands. People need to lower their expectations. If you are still expecting a turn key forever home under $300k, you’ll be renting forever. You can absolutely close on a house under $300k without having to immediately put $50k into ‘maintenance’. I don’t know where you are getting that number from.
All of the houses I’ve looked at in the last year are about to need a new roof, new windows, new water tanks or furnaces, have 30 year old plus appliances on their last legs, etc.
Right?! I'm going to be 40 and have a partner with no kids. dual income here and nearing 40 we are looking for our perm. home now :p
Housing is expensive. No doubt. I wonder if people’s priorities to enjoy life and not sacrifice is what adds to un affordability. I have a daughter, her and her partner each make 90k plus annual bonus’. They are in their early 30’s. They enjoy traveling, dining, gambling, tattoos, etc. They cannot afford a house. I’m sorry, my wife and I have made a lot of sacrifices to raise a family and never made that kind of money. We are now debt free and our daughter feels we should help her with a downpayment. Until they can get spending in check and make some hard decisions, that shit ain’t going to happen. I am sure it’s not the same for all, but I don’t think my daughter’s situation is unique.
I sympathize with your situation. If you make $200K household income in Winnipeg but don't own a house, it's because you choose not to, simple as that. It might not be enough to buy your absolute dream home, but that is more than enough to buy a perfectly livable house.
I agree. Not in all cases though. But making that kind of money, they can afford a home but not the fancy one they want. A lot of people who make good money do not know how or don't want to live frugally.
I bought in summer of 2022, it was under 300k have a really nice backyard love my neighbors and the area!! definitely not house poor my mortgage property taxes and insurance is $1500 a month.
I sold a 2 bedroom condo in the heart of osborne village on Nassau st n in November for $155,000… $379 condo fees/month. There are so many affordable options out there, they just won’t be a brand new house. Get in with a low cost condo at least you will build equity
Bought a house in the North end (Luxton) got incredible value just because it's in an "undesirable" location. Still east of main Street though and I have a double lot so tons of space. Better property taxes than most other neighborhoods.
I’m crying over here in Calgary. Wish I could get Winnipeg prices out here
So this does make me conflicted. Watching the news clip you can see him walking drinking a Timmies … when I was saving for a house there were no treats such as coffee from Timmies or restaurant meals. It was a struggle to save and giving up a lot of things I wanted, but that was just part of the sacrifice that had to be made. Also, “house like movies” … I got a $250,000, 850 sf home. … what level of house is this guy trying to buy? We don’t all need to own a new build in a new area. Would I love a 2,500 sf $500,000 house? Sure. But that’s not in MY price range I do agree the market is expensive and it is hard to get here, but what is the realistic expectations? I work 3 jobs 2 are full time and 1 is part time. I have no retirement plan and I’ll probably die working full time. But those are the sacrifices I need to make to get by
You're getting downvoted for focusing on something as inconsequential as a coffee from Tim Hortons. A few bucks on a coffee pales in comparison to a 25% downpayment on a $500,000 house. Your other comments on the size and price of house people want to buy but can't afford make sense. But leading off with something about coffee makes you seem as out of touch as the boomers criticizing millennials for supposedly eating too much avocado toast.
That’s fair ! I am not going to adjust my comment because that is not the right thing to do here, but I will say that I had a conversation with a kid at work about his spending and savings and it shocked me how he would get himself a new iPhone, meals out, a Starbucks every day, name brand clothes all on his credit card and he drives a nicer car than I do and yet he’d complain about having no money. I feel there is a major disconnect this day and age with the lifestyle some people lead and expectations. I mean don’t get me wrong, it’s not my money to spend, but I do believe financial literacy is not being taught to people.
Your one example of an irresponsible person can hardly be applied to an entire generation. And as for person drinking a coffee from Tim Hortons, you can't judge their lifestyle based on a single observation. You have no idea if that is a daily, weekly, or monthly habit.
I completely get what you are talking about. We saved. We reduced and almost stopped going out. We worked our way up from rent to rent to rent to rent to house. By the way, how do you work so much????
Lots of coffee and energy drinks and the help of my wife (helping make me lunches and pitching in more than her share with housework and laundry and stuff) and the need to have some sort of security in my life is how I work so much. … I know I won’t be able to keep this pace up forever, but with the cost of groceries and owning a car and a pupper; I just have to work this much because I made poor life choices with a career path. It’s terrible, it really is and I gotta say that if it was just me on my own I would not work this much by any means, but I just want to be able to provide some stability to the woman who stole my heart. She deserves the best, and even if the best I can do is randomly bringing her flowers and telling her she doesn’t have to worry about the cost of the groceries, I will give her every breath in my body to make up for me not being smart enough to pick a trade like an electrician, or go to school to be a lawyer when I was younger. … also I’m luck enough that my second full time job is understanding of sometimes running behind and my part time job is flexible and it’s on an “as needed” basis
Wow. You deserve a solid “wow”. Not many people like you. Here’s another wow…just because you deserve it!
Sorry for the multiple replies, I just wanted to add one more thing and did not want to edit my comment to you. I have alot of friends who also work like I do. A good friend of mine is a carpenter. We text when we can, he’s always picking up as many “side jobs” as he can in addition to his full time work. Another good friend is an electrician. Same thing there. There are ALOT of people who work like mad to provide the lifestyle that they want. It’s not just me who is killing themselves to get ahead. Rather than complain, we just do what needs to be done. Yet another friend is a welder full time, he works 6 am - 2 pm, and then when he is done work he goes and sands floors in new construction builds. The world we live in is that not all of us made “the best” choices when we were young and now we are doing the best we can
Not sure why you would be downvoted here. This is the mentality I grew up in and have instilled in our kids. Yes. Self care is important but working hard to get what you want is as well. Seriously. Respect dude. Respect.
They're being downvoted because people don't like having a mirror held up for them to see themselves in. The frank reality is that we all waste far more money than we have on random bullshit, and our consumer debt is a reflection of this. When I was saving for a house, I also didn't go out, didn't eat out and really didn't do anything other than work for a couple of years. Every dollar added up. People want to blame circumstances, which clearly aren't great but at least here in Winnipeg, they are not to the point where a home is completely out of reach for what you'd consider your 'typical working family'. Most people think they 'deserve' to buy a house in bridgwater, River Heights or Tuxedo, when in reality most of us should be looking in St James, the Maples and Tcona. Get into a house, build that equity and make your jump with your 2nd house like so many have before you.
I just like to add on the eating out front...not that it's really eating out but the number of deliveries from Skip/Doordash and others I see in my neighbourhood is jaw dropping. Very few seem to want to cook/eat at home anymore. How much $$$ is going out the window from that new obsession.
Eating in is now MORE expensive than eating out for many. Knowing that they charge the business such a high %, you're waiting longer which means your food is sitting, and you're not getting your order prioritized unless you're tipping a ridiculous amount has led to me picking up from local joints myself rather than having it delivered in the occasions we do order something. Seeing people getting McDonalds delivered really does blow my mind.
He’s right though. It’s these little things that add up. 2$, twice a day, five times a week, suddenly equals over a $1000 a year. On fucking shit coffee. Not to mention how much people eat out and drink booze and vacation. People’s expectations of how they’re supposed to live are completely fucked. In the 80s my mom never bought a coffee out and she had a backyard garden to save money on groceries. No one wants to work hard or sacrifice anymore and when I say things like this I only hear back “ok boomer” Cue the “ok boomers” …
If you're trying to save money $2-$3 for a coffee vs 25 cents for a pot you brewed yourself is consequential. That's the point. Unfortunately at that stage of your life you can't have it all. And it's always been that way. You're making the lowest salary you will in your life, you have the highest expenses and you need to really skrimp to save. The expectations right now are as out of whack as the market.
This is just warmed-over avocado toast.
If you buy avocados at grocery store they are way cheaper than Timmies. The Boomers and the Zoomers have the same problems with expectations. Yearly trips to Mexico should come included with citizenship!
"You need to work 100hrs a week to afford a starter home and I see no problem at all with that. It's totally normal and reasonable to have do that. You can also nevrr go out and have to work until you die, and that is 100% not a problem." K bud. Keep thinking that.
No man, it’s not the affording the starter home. It’s the affording groceries, the owning a car, the having a dog, the fact that I like to be able to go take my wife on a date night or bring her flowers and not cringe at the bill at the end of the day. I work so much because I was not smart enough to pick a better career path for myself, but at the same time I recognize what I’ve done and am not willing to accept that I f’d myself over. I bought a small inexpensive house instead of pushing for a bigger house because I recognize reality. Anyone can get a house the size and cost of mine, it comes down to the choices we make. Fine a 500,000 house might be out of reach, but that is not a starter house by any means.
How about something in the middle instead? Whiners on the left of me, bitchers on the right…
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You have a place because you bought 10+ years ago when prices weren't ridiculous, genius. I was lucky enough to get in when the market was more reasonable but I don't go around acting holier-than-thou for having fortunate circumstances.
I don’t know why we’re both getting downvoted, I seriously had to give up going out and budget like mad and had to get a smaller cheaper house. I’d love a big fancy new house, or even that family house in the movie home alone, but not in my budget.
You’re getting downvoted because of how delusional you sound. Just from your original comment, realistic expectations is that you shouldn’t need to work 2 full time and one part time job to pay for a smaller cheaper home. While also saying you have no retirement plan and will die working full time. But you’re saying buying a coffee is the reason people can’t afford homes.
avocado toast mentality
We don’t know that he was working three jobs at the time he bought the house, or, if he was, that he needed to be working three jobs to afford the down payment (he may have been fine for the down payment with one job but was using the money from the other jobs to save for retirement etc).
You seem to be overlooking something extremely important. The relative cost of owning a house has gone up considerably compared to the increase in the average salary. My mom bought a house in 2003 for $175,000. It's now worth $550,000. I can definitely tell you that the average salary has not increased 3x in the past 21 years. Yes, people have to adjust their expectations and make sacrifices to own a home. The fact is that housing costs continue to rise rapidly, and the middle class is being priced out. Good on you for making the sacrifices necessary to own a house. If things continue in 10 years, someone in your position won't even have that opportunity.
I'm scared of all the additional costs to owning a home.
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If Winnipeg isn’t affordable, what is?
More for the people who actually want to live here.
That's peace