11 Cities & Towns In Canada Where You Can Afford To Buy A Place On Your Own
It’s no secret that venturing out on your own and buying a place to live can be pretty expensive if you’re not doing it with other people. However, depending on where you are in the country, there are spots where it can be cheap to purchase a single-person home with just your income. These are 11 affordable places to live in Canada for people who are buying on their own.
Whether people are buying a place for the first time or doing it for a second or third time, it can be harder on just one income than it would with two.
According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation's annual Mortgage Consumer Survey, 23% of first-time buyers in 2019 were single compared to just 11% for repeat buyers.
With that in mind, Zoocasa looked at 15 cities and regions across the country to figure out which places are better for self-partnered buyers.
They factored in the minimum down payment needed to buy a benchmark apartment, the median after-tax income in each city and how long a person would need to save 100% of their income to make the down payment.
Using these numbers, it’s no surprise that Vancouver and Toronto, known for how expensive they can be, are considered some of the least affordable areas for single people to buy.
Still, here are 11 places across the country where single people can afford to buy an apartment on their own with a down payment of $20,000 or less.
Fraser Valley, B.C.
Minimum down payment for a benchmark apartment: $20,275Benchmark apartment price: $405,500Median after-tax income: $28,646Months needed to make that down payment: 8.5 months
Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario
Minimum down payment for a benchmark apartment: $17,500Benchmark apartment price: $350,000Median after-tax income: $34,051Months needed to make that down payment: 6.2 months
Ottawa, Ontario
Minimum down payment for a benchmark apartment: $16,240Benchmark apartment price: $324,800Median after-tax income: $41,026Months needed to make that down payment: 4.8 months
Montreal, Quebec
Minimum down payment for a benchmark apartment: $16,035Benchmark apartment price: $320,700Median after-tax income: $29,617Months needed to make that down payment: 6.5 months
Vancouver Island, B.C.
Minimum down payment for a benchmark apartment: $15,230Benchmark apartment price: $304,600Median after-tax income: $30,889Months needed to make that down payment: 5.9 months
Calgary, Alberta
Minimum down payment for a benchmark apartment: $12,365Benchmark apartment price: $247,300Median after-tax income: $44,957Months needed to make that down payment: 3.3 months
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Minimum down payment for a benchmark apartment: $11,480Benchmark apartment price: $229,593Median after-tax income: $32,865Months needed to make that down payment: 4.2 months
Moncton, New Brunswick
Minimum down payment for a benchmark apartment: $10,120Benchmark apartment price: $202,400Median after-tax income: $29,210Months needed to make that down payment: 4.2 months
Edmonton, Alberta
Minimum down payment for a benchmark apartment: $9,190Benchmark apartment price: $183,800Median after-tax income: $42,360Months needed to make that down payment: 2.6 months
Regina, Saskatchewan
Minimum down payment for a benchmark apartment: $8,965Benchmark apartment price: $179,300Median after-tax income: $38,768Months needed to make that down payment: 2.8 months
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Minimum down payment for a benchmark apartment: $8,475Benchmark apartment price: $169,500Median after-tax income: $26,930Months needed to make that down payment: 2.8 months
Zoocasa's numbers are based on the assumption that people contribute 100% of their income annually to savings which is not possible for every single person, but it's nice to know that there's still hope for single homebuyers out there!