So, if you're sick of seeing soaring housing prices and monthly rental rates or increased mortgage payments thanks to interest rate hikes, this might be just the story for you and could help you find a more affordable place to call home.
Zoocasa looked at 27 cities nationwide and analyzed each market's average housing price, monthly rent, and mortgage payment to find the cheapest places to live in Canada for renters and homeowners alike.
All of the data comes from the Canadian Real Estate Association, Rentals.ca, and a mortgage payments calculation based on a 20% down payment and a rate of 5.04% amortized over 30 years on the average-priced home.
When compared to Canada's average housing price of $709,218 and Canada's average rent cost of $2,042, you can see just how much you could save. In some cases, the savings add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars on the cost of a home or nearly $1,000 per month on the cost of rent.
While it's no surprise that cities like Toronto and Vancouver (and surrounding areas of both) topped the list, the research revealed a wide variety of affordable locations to buy or rent a home in provinces like Alberta, Quebec, and even Ontario.
Here are the 10 cheapest cities to live in Canada right now and how the house cost, average monthly rent, and average mortgage payments all compare.
St. Catharines, Ontario
Average monthly rent: $1,853
Average house price: $603,900
Average monthly mortgage payment:$2,590
Homes for sale in St. Catharines are an average of $105,318 cheaper while renters could save an average of $189 per month.
Kingston, Ontario
Average monthly rent: $1,812
Average house price: $568,400
Average monthly mortgage payment: $2,438
Homes for sale in Kingston are an average of $140,818 cheaper while renters could save an average of $230 per month. Kingston also has the lowest average monthly mortgage payment of any Ontario city on this list.
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Average monthly rent: $1,475
Average house price: $348,100
Average monthly mortgage payment: $1,493
Homes for sale in Winnipeg are an average of $361,118 cheaper while renters could save an average of $567 per month. The average rent in Winnipeg is also only $18 cheaper that the average monthly mortgage payment.
Quebec City, Quebec
Average monthly rent: $1,395
Average house price: $337,800
Average monthly mortgage payment: $1,449
Homes for sale in Quebec City are an average of $371,418 cheaper while renters could save an average of $647 per month.
Edmonton, Alberta
Average monthly rent: $1,351
Average house price: $376,800
Average monthly mortgage payment: $1,616
Homes for sale in Edmonton are an average of $332,418 cheaper while renters could save an average of $691 per month.
Red Deer, Alberta
Average monthly rent: $1,314
Average house price: $354,514
Average monthly mortgage payment: $1,520
Homes for sale in Red Deer are an average of $354,704 cheaper while renters could save an average of $728 per month.
Lethbridge, Alberta
Average monthly rent: $1,277
Average house price: $345,221
Average monthly mortgage payment: $1,481
Homes for sale in Lethbridge are an average of $363,997 cheaper while renters could save an average of $765 per month.
Regina, Saskatchewan
Average monthly rent: $1,219
Average house price: $318,700
Average monthly mortgage payment: $1,367
Homes for sale in Regina are an average of $390,518 cheaper while renters could save an average of $823 per month.
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Average monthly rent: $1,178
Average house price: $381,400
Average monthly mortgage payment: $1,636
Homes for sale in Saskatoon are more expensive than most locations on this list but are still an average of $327,818 cheaper. Renters could save an average of $864 per month.
Grand Prairie, Alberta
Average monthly rent: $1,097
Average house price: $324,341
Average monthly mortgage payment: $1,391
Homes for sale in Grand Prairie are an average of $384,877 cheaper while renters could save an average of $945 per month.
While these 10 locations were the cheapest in Canada, locations such as Kitchener, Hamilton, Halifax, Oshawa, Montreal, London, and Calgary were ranked in the middle of the top and bottom 10.
The average house price in Kitchener, Hamilton and Oshawa are above average while the average rent in Halifax, Oshawa, Montreal and London are all below average.
Overall, the research shows how much more affordable renting is in Canada right now compared to the cost of owning a home. None of the 27 locations researched revealed a market where the average monthly mortgage payments were below the average monthly cost of rent.
"In March 2023, Zoocasa conducted the same analysis comparing monthly mortgage payments with monthly rental payments and found that two cities, Winnipeg and Quebec City, had monthly mortgage payments cheaper than monthly rent," reads a section of this latest report.
"Now, in a span of less than four months, there are no longer any cities with mortgage payments more affordable than monthly rental payments and the gap is growing larger" the report continues. "In March, the difference in monthly rental and monthly mortgage payments in Toronto was $1,495. In June, the difference in payments in Toronto grew to $2,086."
Meanwhile, in Toronto specifically, the average monthly rent of $3,404 and average house price of $1,171,300 is second only to Vancouver.
"Though no market is more affordable to buy in than rent, there are several markets where the rental and mortgage payments are similar, though these are all outside of Ontario and British Columbia," reads the Zoocasa report.
While there's no denying just how tough it can be to find an affordable option for renting or buying a house in Canada, this research offers a glimpse of where some of that affordability lies. Now, it's just a question of whether or not you're willing to move to take advantage of the lower costs.
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.
