Lack of housing inventory in Winnipeg creating a seller’s real estate market this spring

Spring is around the corner, which means the real estate market is heading into busy season, and many trends are saying buyers, beware. 

One market expert says that Winnipeg is seeing a shortage of inventory, causing bidding wars for houses that are on the market.

According to the Winnipeg Regional real estate board, in February 2026, compared to last year, active listings were down 8 per cent, sales were down 11 per cent, and the total dollar volume was down 10 per cent.

“There’s just simply nothing out there for buyers to choose from,” said Nicole Hacault, a realtor.

Hacault says that one of her listings had over 20 showings within the first 48 hours on the market. She attributes the trend to population demographics in the city.

“What we have is a huge population who are coming into home ownership, the millennials, and the generation underneath that is coming into home ownership.  What we also have are all the boomers, and all the boomers are just staying in their homes longer, their living longer, happier, healthier lives, and their staying, and that off-balance is what’s contributing to the market,” said Hacault.

She says another contributing factor is that most sellers wait until the snow melts to list their properties.

“When that snow is melting, for the buyers to be able to see their yard, they think that is the hottest and best time, but in real estate, the spring market is when we start seeing activity pick up, and we start seeing activity pick up the second week in January,” Hacault explained.

So, if you’re a buyer in Winnipeg this spring, patience is a virtue.

“The emotions are really strong, the heartbreak is constant because you’re falling in love, offering, losing, falling in love, offering, losing, and that’s when people end up throwing a lot of money to win, and in this market it’s not abnormal to see homes going 50 to 150 thousand over list price.”