Here's how much you need to make to afford a home in Vancouver compared to the rest of Canada
It's not a secret that Vancouver is an expensive city, to say the least, but new research shows just how much you need to make in order to afford a home in the West Coast city.
It also breaks down the same numbers for other big Canadian cities, like the nearby one of Calgary – which adds some salt to the wound for Vancouverites.
The research released by weathvieu.com this month said that Canada's average home price was $649,096 as of August. They then calculated how much money someone would need to make in order to make a home affordable in the country and in major Canadian cities specifically.
"For the average-priced home in Canada to be affordable — one would need a monthly income of $12,422 or an annual income of $149,067," the study said.
That number changes pretty drastically depending on the province and city you call home though. Spoiler alert: It's not good news for Vancouver.
How much money you need to make to afford a home in Vancouver
B.C. as a whole is leading in terms of the least affordable, with an average home price of $998,159. To afford this, according to the study's calculations, you would need an income of $229,231 a year.
Of course, that average is partly thanks to the big city of Vancouver, notorious for its hefty real estate prices.
In Vancouver, you'll need to make $310,029 a year to be able to afford a home, which works out to be $25,836 a month (yikes!).
How it compares to the rest of Canada
Much of Canada isn't able to afford a home it seems. The study compared "the annual income needed with the average household income for each province to determine if these homes are affordable," and only six out of 10 provinces were deemed affordable based on the average household income. Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, and P.E.I. all made the cut.
B.C., Ontario, Quebec, and Nova Scotia on the other hand all have average household incomes that are not enough to be able to comfortably buy the average house in the province.
Toronto is the other big hub of Canada, but it's still more affordable in terms of home buying, compared to Vancouver. People in the city need to make $266,896 a year to be able to afford a home, which is still a lot.
B.C.'s neighbour of Alberta might just tempt Vancouverites though. In Calgary, the yearly salary needed to afford a home is $143,131, and in Edmonton, it's $100,812.
If you really want a change though head East. In Newfoundland and Labrador, you would need to earn $73,175 for a home to be considered affordable.
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