Manitoba’s residential real estate market maintained its positive momentum in May 2025, as MLS® home sales inched upward year-over-year to reach the second-highest level for the month in the province’s history. A slight increase of 0.4% in home sales, compared to May 2024, was seen. This performance was consistent with the province’s five-year average and 5.3% higher than the ten-year average for May.
Looking at the broader trend, cumulative home sales for the first five months of 2025 saw a 4.6% increase from the same period last year. These figures reflect sustained buyer activity despite broader economic uncertainty.
Inventory Tightens With Sustained Demand
There have been tightening conditions. While new listings saw a modest increase of 3.1% year-over-year in May, active listings dropped. At the end of May, there was a decline of 13.3% in residential listings compared to May 2024.
Measured against historical levels, active listings in May were 2.8% below the five-year average and 25.4% below the ten-year average. This persistent shortage of supply has reduced months of inventory to just 1.7, down from 2.0 a year earlier and under the long-term May average of 2.5.
Prices Break Records as Market Tightens
With demand outpacing supply, home prices in Manitoba continue to rise. The average sale price in May 2025 reached a new provincial record of $410,233, representing a year-over-year increase of 10.5%. This marked the third consecutive month of record-breaking average prices.
On a year-to-date basis, the average price across all sales in the first five months of 2025 rose to $395,498, up 8% from the same period in 2024. The total dollar volume of May’s sales reached an all-time high of $775.3 million, up 10.9% year-over-year. Not only is this the highest total ever recorded for May, but it is also the largest monthly sales dollar volume in Manitoba’s history.
Rental Markets Hold Steady
Provincially, Manitoba’s average rent across all unit types was $1,624 in May. Studio apartments averaged $1,082 with no year-over-year change. One-bedroom units increased 2% annually to $1,444, while two-bedroom units rose 1% to $1,768.
In Winnipeg, rental prices have remained relatively flat, indicating some market stability after a period of more aggressive growth. According to data from Rentals.ca, the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Winnipeg was $1,443 in May 2025, for a negligible monthly decline of 0.1%, but still up 1.9% compared to May 2024. Two-bedroom units averaged $1,762, down 1.0% month-over-month and 0.2% year-over-year, suggesting a slight softening in that segment of the market.
Relative to other provinces, Manitoba remains a mid-range market for renters. Its average rent of $1,624 is well below British Columbia ($2,462) and Ontario ($2,335), and also trails the Atlantic Canada average ($2,146). It is moderately higher than Saskatchewan ($1,386) and Quebec ($1,964). Unlike some of the more volatile rental markets in Canada, however, Manitoba’s rental prices held steady overall.
Nationally, for comparison, Canada’s average rent declined by 2.3% year-over-year to $2,118 in May, with several large provinces, including Ontario, British Columbia, and Quebec, reporting drops in average rents.