In a recent blog post by rentals.ca, a trend was noted across the prairie capital cities: rent prices were creeping up, while other provinces showed a decline. Winnipeg now has an average rental cost of $1,664, up 1.5% year-over-year (Y/Y). While renting has its place, at this cost, you're not far away from being able to start building equity and working towards owning your home instead of putting money in someone else's pocket. The secret ingredient? Single attached homes, sometimes called duplexes.

In February 2026, the average sale price of a Single Attached home in Manitoba was around $379,000. Assuming a 4% interest rate, that's around $1,900 a month. Sure, that's more than just renting. But what if you call up a friend and see if they want to live with you and chip in? Even at a modest $600/month in rent income, you're ahead of average rental prices! And the best part: you’re building equity. In 5 years, you will have paid down over $45,000 of your principal—money that otherwise would have gone to a landlord.

What’s preventing you from moving away from renting and into home ownership? A lot of people have a hard time saving up the 5% down payment, and that is certainly a challenge. For that $379,000 attached home I mentioned earlier, 5% is nearly $20,000. That’s not a small amount of money; it's almost a year of rent (at that average price). But perhaps delaying your ambition to move out of your parents' home can be put on hold for a year to set yourself up for long-term success.

What's the next step? Call me! I'll help you find a lender who can work with your unique situation and get you into a home. Once we know the budget we’re working with, we can get into the fun stuff: looking at homes! I'll help you find a place to call your own. I’ll help you turn that monthly housing expense into an equity-building payment instead of just a rent payment.