By Peter Squire
It may be “out with the old and in with the new” a bit early, but after 31 years, it’s time to say goodbye at the end of this one. I’ve decided to retire, so starting next week you'll see a new face at the top of this page.
I began my career at the Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board in 1991 and a lot has changed in that time. Considering that the average house price back then was $85,286 and is now $415,325, you can see that the value of a home has kept pace with my age.
I’ve been deeply honoured during my career to champion homeownership and the immeasurable and intrinsic value it brings to families and neighbourhoods. No better example of that which I have had the privilege of being involved in from the very start is the Housing Opportunity Partnership, or HOP, as it is commonly known.
What helped the Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board, when HOP was established back in the mid-to-late ’90s, was an incredible group of knowledgeable and dedicated REALTORS® who, like me, wanted to make a difference in neighbourhoods we felt could use assistance in renewing housing stock while giving a hand up to first-time homeowners who would be a catalyst for more renewal to rise and take hold. Over time, neighbourhoods which HOP targeted in Winnipeg’s West End saw their home values increase six-fold when prior to that they were clearly on the cusp of irretrievable decline if no intervention had taken place.
Working with the likes of the late Reverend Harry Lehotsky and the Spence Neighbourhood Association was terrific and exhilarating as we all came together with a common purpose to make housing and neighbourhoods better for so many families.
To a large extent, HOP is a victim of its own success. It has become too expensive to reclaim or build new homes in the neighbourhoods originally acquired in.
However, HOP remains active in 2022. It is now building new infill homes in the William Whyte neighbourhood and could not be prouder that it can help first-time buyers acquire a new energy-efficient home and give them a golden opportunity to raise their family and bring the kind of stability to their lives that homeownership does. To top it off, HOP just celebrated its first Manitoba Tip Mitawa Indigenous buyer purchasing one of its homes this year.
One of the keys to HOP’s success, and the Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board in general, is that there is a rich database of information through its MLS® to draw upon to make informed decisions and measure progress through the metrics that are available. In the last few years, it has had the benefit of being a participant in the Canadian Real Estate Association’s MLS®Home Price Index which is the most accurate gauge in determining home price trends. It applies to all MLS® neighbourhoods, not just the overall market region.
Where this became abundantly clear for my market intelligence work is when we hold our annual Market Insights event and can see some very helpful metrics, such as how many listings in a neighbourhood are being converted to sales and where prices are in relation to this localized activity. One thing we have come to learn about Winnipeg, let alone outside in the larger market region which the Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board serves, is how prices throughout the city can vary quite dramatically. So, when we speak of the fact that all markets are local, that holds true across the country and certainly in a regional market like Winnipeg’s.
Average single-family prices this year can be as high as over $1 million in Tuxedo and South Headingley to $150,000 in the heart of the North End.
There is no question that our market remains one of the most affordable ones in the country. This should be seen as an advantage to retaining and attracting more people to Manitoba given how many Canadians can no longer afford to own a home in a number of larger Canadian cities.
Let me just touch on the importance of advocacy, because whether the Board initiates a non-profit housing initiative, as it did with HOP, or speaks out on derelict homes and expresses concern for the overall condition of our older housing stock, it has to be there to let politicians know what the impacts are of their decisions, or lack thereof, to increase and improve our housing supply so everyone has a roof over their head.
Our job is far from done and I am so pleased to introduce Jeremy Davis, who will continue my efforts in bringing attention to what is happening in the Winnipeg market, as well as issues REALTORS® deem important to the well-being of the cities and towns served throughout our market region. We are excited to have Jeremy as part of our team!
Jeremy joins us fresh from City Hall where he has served since 2016, taking on the role of the Director of Communications in 2020 for Mayor Brian Bowman. In the 15 years Jeremy spent championing issues in both the federal and municipal governments, he has demonstrated a passion for strategic communications, media relations and stakeholder engagement.
“It has been an honour to work alongside Peter for the last couple of months, gaining valuable insights on the real estate industry from an over 30-year career,” said Davis. “I’ve lived in Winnipeg my entire life and I’m driven by a genuine desire to see our city continue to evolve into a better place to live, work, play, and invest. I look forward to continuing Peter’s efforts in this role to drive market intelligence, corporate social responsibility programming, and government, stakeholder and public relations activities that advance the profile of the Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board and the importance of using a REALTOR®.”
Peter Squire is the Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board’s Vice-President External Relations & Market Intelligence.