Here's How Much You Need To Make To Buy A Home In Canada's Major Cities In 2023
Some cities require a much bigger income than others. 💰
Houses on a street in Toronto. Right: Buildings in Vancouver.
With house prices and the cost of living in Canada both high, a new housing affordability report has revealed exactly what income Canadians need to afford a house in 2023.
Zoocasa has shared which Canadian cities are the most affordable for single buyers, as well as how much you need to make to afford to buy, and the numbers are pretty grim.
A new report from the real estate platform determined the most affordable and the most expensive cities in Canada for those looking to buy a home on a single income.
Zoocasa then compared the income required to purchase a home with the median income among residents aged 25 to 64 years old, and in many markets, the disparity between housing prices and income is drastic.
What salary do you need to buy a house in Canada?
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Vancouver is the market with the highest income required to purchase the average home, which is priced at $1,114,300 as of December 2022.
Here, residents would have to make at least $173,250 annually to afford a home, assuming the buyer would make a 20% down payment and get a mortgage with an interest rate of 5.14% over 30 years.
However, as Zoocasa's report notes, the median income for Vancouverites is much lower than needed at $56,400.
Likewise, in Toronto, where residents would need to make $168,150 to afford the average $1,081,400 home, the median income is drastically lower at $62,000.
The prices for detached homes, townhouses and condos are similarly unaffordable.
Other markets like Victoria, Hamilton-Burlington, Calgary, Ottawa, Montreal and Halifx fare pretty much the same way, where the income required to purchase the average home ranges from $77,400 to $135,675, but the median income is only in the $48,000 to $51,6000 range.
Most affordable housing in Canada
On the flip side, in some markets, the median income is more than enough to cover the cost of a home.
In Saint John, New Brunswick, where the average home price is $261,300, residents would need to make at least $40,613 to be able to afford to buy.
In the city, however, the median income is $48,000 — more than enough to front the cost of both a detached house and a condo.
Likewise, in Regina, the residents are making a median income of $58,000, which is plenty considering that the income required to purchase the average $311,500 home is $48,450.
According to Zoocasa, the top five most affordable cities in Canada for potential homebuyers are as follows:
- Regina, Saskatchewan
- Saint John, New Brunswick
- Edmonton, Alberta
- St. John’s, Newfoundland
- Winnipeg, Manitoba
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