‘Everything is getting very, very expensive’

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This article was published 12/03/2025 (186 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

En route from China: appliances for future Winnipeg apartments.

Carrington Real Estate has housing blocks in the works. Items it usually buys from the United States — appliances, for one — are now being sourced locally and abroad.

The Manitoba company has eyed Europe for mechanical equipment, including heating and ventilation goods. And the steel studs it normally imports from the U.S. have a Canadian alternative; the trick is determining whether the manufacturer has enough room for Carrington’s order.

“We just wanted to make sure we had an answer in case (tariff threats) came to fruition,” said Sam Goszer, Carrington Real Estate chief executive.

He’s not alone. Manitoba developers have been making alternate arrangements to avoid U.S. tariffs; construction industry members are anticipating increased project costs.

The Manitoba Home Builders’ Association warns now might be the best time to build or buy, citing four years of uncertainty.

“Ultimately, it’s unfortunate,” Goszer said.

The changes Carrington is making should keep its project costs neutral, aside from longer deposit times, which could lengthen interest payment periods, Goszer added.

Overseas shipments require far more time to arrive than U.S. counterparts, meaning deposits must happen farther in advance.

“Our contacts were ordering to the U.S. because there was a utility and efficiency to that,” Goszer said. “We would likely revert back to standard practice once the trade war ended.”

For now, developers sit in uncertainty.

Twenty-five per cent tariffs on all U.S. steel and aluminum imports took effect Wednesday. In response, the Canadian government slapped 25 per cent tariffs on $29.8 billion worth of U.S. goods.

Both moves add to the 25 per cent levy the U.S. placed on many Canadian imports earlier this month, and the 25 per cent tariffs Canada stuck to $30 billion worth of U.S. imports in retaliation.

The Bank of Canada cut its key interest rate to 2.75 per cent Wednesday. In a note, it highlighted trade war-related uncertainty.

“Everything is getting very, very expensive, and every little bit helps these days,” said Nathan Janzen, co-founder of Janzen Projects Inc.

“We don’t know if we’re going to be in a recession,” he said. “It’s still too soon to tell right now, but every quarter-point (BoC reduction) helps.”

His Winnipeg company is finishing a Sage Creek neighbourhood seniors complex. Janzen Projects’ contractor is already routing new supply chains — away from the U.S. — for future projects.

Windows and garage doors are among the items that could become more expensive if tariffs persist, forecast Lanny McInnes, Manitoba Home Builders’ Association president.

“Those types of products would really impact and even worsen the affordability challenges, in terms of building a new home,” McInnes said. “We’ll wait and see what transpires.”

He deemed now “probably the best and most stable time” to buy or build a home during U.S. President Donald Trump’s tenure.

It’s unclear what will happen over the next months and years, McInnes noted.

Average home prices have risen drastically since the COVID-19 pandemic; a typical 2,400-square-foot home cost $65,000 more to build last year than in 2019, a Canadian Home Builders’ Association survey found.

Lately, Winnipeg home sales have been outpacing last year’s. Life — marriages, births, divorce — continues and it’s constant fuel for the housing market, noted Michael Froese.

“If people’s jobs start to be affected by these tariffs … then we’re in another story,” said the Royal LePage managing broker and incoming Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board president.

It’s something Froese is keeping tabs on. For now, the busy local spring market is unfurling as expected. People who were sidelined during the pandemic are purchasing homes, jumping on the lower interest rates, Froese said.

Contractors expect price increases on anything containing steel, aluminum, bitumen and wood, the Manitoba Heavy Construction Association shared.

There’s a risk private-sector investment will drop off, said Darryl Harrison, the Winnipeg Construction Association director of stakeholder engagement and advocacy. He’s calling for more provincial structures to be built, like schools and personal care homes.

“A long-term commitment over many years … would be helpful for the industry,” Harrison said. “There seems to be a nationwide agreement that now is the time to focus on ourselves, focus on Canada.”

— with files from The Canadian Press

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com