The Best Mortgage Rates in Manitoba
Compare customized mortgage rates from Manitoba’s top lenders. Find the best fixed or variable mortgage rate for your needs.8Twelve has partnered with over 65 Canadian mortgage lenders to provide competitive rates on over 7,000 mortgage products. 8Twelve can quickly match you with a lender and mortgage type that meets your needs — even if your financial situation is unique.
Manitoba mortgage rate update: April 2025
Manitoba’s mortgage shoppers may have been disappointed on April 16, 2025, when the Bank of Canada decided to hold its overnight rate at 2.75%. The rate hold means variable mortgage rates will stay at their current levels — around 4% at some brokerages, though higher at Canada’s biggest banks — until at least June 4, when the Bank is scheduled to make its next rate decision.
Fortunately, fixed mortgage rates in Manitoba remain fairly approachable.
As of April 16, some brokerages were offering three-year fixed rates for around 3.7% and five-year fixed rates for about 3.75%. Those aren’t mind-blowingly low rates, but they might be as good as they’re going to get for the time being.
Government bond yields, which help determine lenders’ fixed mortgage rates, have been in the same general range since February. Without a significant, sustained dip in yields, lenders won’t have much reason to lower their fixed rates.
While rates may not improve in the coming weeks, home buyers have a few things working in their favour. Housing stock is piling up, which should take some pressure off of home prices, and Donald Trump’s tariff war may not be the extinction-level event many had feared.
If you have job security, it’s actually not a bad time to be looking for a home.
- Manitoba Housing market update – March 2025
While some provincial housing markets faltered in March 2025, Manitoba’s enjoyed strong demand from home buyers. Home sales in the province rose 24.5% compared to February, resulting in two consecutive months of sales increases.
Housing inventory and home prices were both on upward trajectories in March. New listings were almost 30% higher than in February, while the average sale price, $399,132, increased by 4.2%.
Manitoba 2025 home sales and price forecast
The Canadian Real Estate Association’s updated market forecast, released on April 15, 2025, features lower home sales and price estimates than the forecast released in January. CREA still expects sales to increase, but trade tensions with the U.S. mean buying a home in 2025 could prove challenging for Manitobans.
In January, CREA predicted home sales would rise by 5.9% (about 900 sales) this year. Now, they’re expecting sales to increase by 4.8%. The average sale price, however, is still expected to increase by 3.7% to about $383,000.
Read more about the Bank of Canada's latest rate announcement.
The BoC makes policy interest rate announcements eight times a year. Here's what you need to know.Historical trend: New mortgage loans in Manitoba
The average mortgage rate in Manitoba
There’s no single average for mortgage rates in Manitoba. Even if you had access to all the current mortgage rates being offered by lenders in Manitoba, it wouldn’t be much help when you’re mortgage shopping. That’s because the mortgage offer you receive is always specific to you and takes into account multiple factors like your credit score, the type of mortgage you want and the amount you need to borrow.
Think about the “average mortgage rate” the way you would Manitoba’s average home price. It’s interesting data to have, but it’s not necessarily relevant to your own home buying journey.
2025 Manitoba mortgage rate forecast
Variable mortgage rates
After the Bank of Canada’s fifth consecutive overnight rate cut on December 11, 2024, variable mortgage rates were down 1.75% since June. That’s a lot of action from a central bank with a conservative reputation.
The Bank likely won’t be as aggressive in 2025, as it has to wait for its most recent cuts to work their way through the economy. The overnight rate might decrease by another 50 basis points in the first half of 2025, which would bring variable mortgage rates down by another 0.5%.
Fixed mortgage rates
Because they’re determined by the government bond market, which is driven by investors’ decisions, fixed mortgage rates can be difficult to project over the long-term.
The mortgage brokers NerdWallet spoke to at the end of 2024 all expect fixed mortgage rates to remain relatively static for the next several months. That assumption, however, flies in the face of evidence from the government bond market. Bond yields, which determine fixed mortgage rates, cratered for three weeks straight starting on November 21. When yields fall consistently, it gives lenders the wiggle room to lower their fixed rates.
So, fixed rates could fall to begin the year, but lenders might keep them at current levels for a strategic reason: Lower fixed rates might entice home buyers away from the more expensive variable-rate mortgages they’ve been gobbling up to end 2024.
Crunch the numbers with our mortgage calculators
Manitoba first-time home buyer programs
First-time home buyers in Manitoba may qualify for programs, including the Rural Homeownership Program. Under this program you may be eligible to receive up to 15% of the purchase price of a first home depending on where you live and your income. If you live in the home long enough, you do not need to repay it.
Land transfer taxes in Manitoba
The purchaser of a home in Manitoba must pay a land transfer tax based on the value of the home. The tiered-rate system means more expensive homes result in a higher rate. You’ll pay:
No tax for the first $30,000 of your home’s value.
0.5% for any amount between $30,001 and $90,000.
1.0% for any amount between $90,001 and $150,000.
1.5% for any amount between $150,001 and $200,000.
2.% for any amount over $200,000.
Types of lenders in Manitoba
Mortgage lenders in Manitoba tend to fall into four categories, which include:
Large chartered banks such as Scotiabank, RBC and TD.
Credit unions such as Assiniboine Credit Union and Compass Credit Union.
B lenders that work with borrowers with lower credit scores, such as MCAN and Equitable Bank.
Private lenders, who typically deal with borrowers in need of short-term funding.
How Manitoba lenders determine mortgage rates
The mortgage rate you’re offered by a lender in Manitoba will be based on two primary factors; one depends on the state of the economy, the other on your financial situation.
Economic factors
Variable mortgage rates are influenced by the Bank of Canada’s overnight rate. When the overnight rate increases or decreases, a lender’s prime rate follows suit. Variable mortgage rates are based on a lender’s prime rate, so as the prime rate rises or falls, so do variable rates.
Fixed mortgage rates are determined by activity in the government bond market, particularly the yields on one-, three- and five-year bonds. Fixed mortgage rates follow the movement of those yields.
Your financial situation
Factors specific to you also affect the rates you’re offered. These include:
Your credit score.
Your income.
Your total debts.
The loan type you choose.
The amount you’re borrowing.
The term length and amortization period of your loan.
Lenders look for signs of risk when assessing these aspects of your finances. The riskier they perceive you to be as a borrower, the higher the rate they’re likely to offer you.
How to qualify for a lower mortgage rate in Manitoba
Some factors behind rates are beyond your control, but there are steps you can take to encourage lenders to offer you the best mortgage rates. For example, you can:
Improve your credit score. A higher credit score generally results in better offers. Get a better score by eliminating existing debt and paying future bills in full and on time.
Increase your income. It’s not always easy, but any additional income will improve your financial position. Lenders look at your income to assess your ability to afford a mortgage.
Decrease your total debts. Pay down personal loans, student loans or other types of debts. Lenders consider your total debt load when determining the details of your loan.
Consider all your options. See if adjusting the loan type, the term length or the amortization period of your loan could help.
Factors that affect mortgage affordability in Manitoba
A home’s price and the rate you’re offered aren’t the only factors that affect how much mortgage you can afford. You’ll also have to account for the following components, which play a role in all mortgages.
Debt service ratios
Lenders use debt service ratios to determine how much of your income goes toward paying debt. If those ratios are too high, you may not qualify for the mortgage amount you need.
Car loans, credit cards and lines of credit are all examples of debt that require regular payments. Decreasing some of these balances, or relying less heavily on credit, can help you lower your debt service ratios.
The mortgage stress test
You will have to pass the mortgage stress test if you want a home purchase funded by a federally regulated financial institution.
The rules of the stress test say you must qualify for a mortgage at a minimum qualifying rate of either 5.25% or the rate you’re offered plus 2%, whichever is higher. If a lender offers you a rate of 5%, for example, you’ll have to demonstrate you can afford the same mortgage at 7%.
You may be able to avoid the stress test if you apply for a mortgage with a lender that is not federally regulated, like a credit union.
Your down payment
Your down payment is a critically important factor in determining mortgage affordability. The more you can put down, the less you’ll need to borrow. Your monthly mortgage payment will likely be smaller, and you’ll pay less in interest.
Mortgage term
The term is the length of time your mortgage contract is valid. In Canada, mortgage terms can run anywhere from six months to as long as 10 years.
Chances are that your mortgage will have multiple terms during the amortization period until you pay it off in full. Once your mortgage term ends, you can pay your loan off in full, renew it or refinance it.
Amortization period
A mortgage’s amortization period is the time it will take to pay off the loan in full. In Canada, the most common amortization period is 25 years. If your down payment is less than 20%, you can’t have an amortization beyond 25 years.
If your down payment is greater than 20%, you may find some lenders willing to offer amortization periods of up to 35 years.
Why would you want a longer amortization period? The longer your mortgage lasts, the smaller your monthly payment will be. You’ll pay more in interest, but that might be a worthwhile trade-off if it helps you keep your home.
Frequently asked questions
What's a good mortgage rate in Manitoba right now??
What's a good mortgage rate in Manitoba right now??
As of April 2025, Manitoba lenders were offering fixed mortgage rates for around 3.75% and variable mortgage rates for around 4% on certain home purchases.
Will mortgage rates come down in 2025?
Will mortgage rates come down in 2025?
Mortgage rates may decrease further in the first half of 2025. The Bank of Canada might reduce its overnight rate again in June, which would lower variable mortgage rates by 0.25% versus today’s levels. Fixed mortgage rates will likely continue hovering between 3.75% and 4.25% for much of the year.
DIVE EVEN DEEPER
Clay Jarvis