Investing in Winnipeg rentals: the numbers
Winnipeg is one of Canada's steadiest cash-flow markets. Low prices, low vacancy, and the highest cap rates among the big cities here. The trade-off is slower price growth and a strict rent-control regime. Here are the numbers.
Winnipeg at a glance
| Average 2-bedroom rent | $1,300/mo (CMHC Rental Market Report, October 2025) |
|---|---|
| Average 1-bedroom rent | $1,050/mo (CMHC Rental Market Report, October 2025) |
| Rent growth, year over year | 4.5% (CMHC Rental Market Report, October 2025) |
| Rental vacancy rate | 1.8% (CMHC Rental Market Survey, October 2024) |
| Typical multi-family cap-rate band | 5.5 to 7.5% (CBRE / Colliers Canada cap-rate surveys, 2024-2025) |
| City residential mill rate | 11.97 per $1,000 of assessed value, 2024 (municipal tax bylaws, 2024) |
| Rent control | 1.7% 2025 guideline on most older units |
Figures from CMHC, CBRE and Colliers Canada surveys and municipal tax bylaws. Cited with each row above. Rents are existing-tenant averages; new leases on turnover usually run higher.
A Winnipeg fourplex, run in full
Take a small four-unit building in Winnipeg. Using the CMHC Rental Market Report, October 2025 average two-bedroom rent of $1,300 a month across the four units, gross rent comes to about $5,200 a month, or $62,400 a year. At a purchase price near $576,000, the math looks like this.
Property tax at Winnipeg's residential mill rate of 11.97 per $1,000 runs about $6,895 a year. Add roughly $17,500 for insurance, maintenance, management, and a vacancy reserve, and total operating expenses land near $24,395. That leaves a net operating income around $38,005 a year. That works out to a cap rate near 6.6%, in line with the 5.5 to 7.5% band that CBRE and Colliers Canada cap-rate surveys (2024 to 2025) report for Winnipeg multi-family.
Now add the mortgage. With 20% down on a 30-year amortisation at current rates, the debt service is the line that decides whether this deal cash-flows. If it qualifies for CMHC MLI Select, a 1.10 DSCR threshold and a 40-year amortisation path change the math in your favour. That is the kind of difference a US-built tool misses, because it does not carry the CMHC paths at all. The numbers only hold if the rents, the unit count, and the mill rate are real, not what the listing claims.
What is specific to Winnipeg
- Manitoba eliminated its provincial education property tax in 2024, which lowered the effective burden, but the municipal mill rate is still meaningful.
- Manitoba's rent-increase guideline is one of the lowest in the country, so a below-market in-place rent takes years to lift.
- Vacancy is tight, which supports rents, and the high cap-rate band is why cash-flow investors look here.
Run a real Winnipeg listing through BrickROI.
Paste the realtor.ca URL and the Canadian property data fills in the price, taxes, and rent comps. You get cap rate, DSCR, cash-on-cash, the CMHC and MLI Select paths, and a lender-ready PDF in two minutes.
Try a dealWant to run the numbers yourself first? Start the cash-on-cash calculator with this example's figures.
Winnipeg investor questions
Is Winnipeg a good place to invest in rentals?
It depends on the specific deal. Winnipeg has an average two-bedroom rent of $1,300 a month and a rental vacancy rate of 1.8% per the CMHC Rental Market Survey, October 2024. Run the actual numbers on the building before you decide.
What is the average cap rate in Winnipeg?
CBRE and Colliers Canada cap-rate surveys (2024 to 2025) put Winnipeg multi-family in roughly a 5.5 to 7.5% band. Verify against the actual rents and the city mill rate, because a specific building can land outside that range.
What is the average rent in Winnipeg?
Per the CMHC Rental Market Report, October 2025, the average two-bedroom rent in Winnipeg is $1,300 a month and the average one-bedroom is $1,050. Rents grew about 4.5% year over year. New leases on turnover typically run higher than these existing-tenant averages.
Does rent control apply in Winnipeg?
Manitoba sets an annual rent-increase guideline that applies to most older units. The 2025 guideline is 1.7%. Newer buildings get a temporary exemption.