The Okanagan is the fourth least affordable place in Canada to buy property on a single income, according to a new study conducted by Toronto-based real estate brokerage Zoocasa.
Using the Canadian Real Estate Association’s February 2018 home price data and Statistics Canada’s median household income data, Zoocasa calculated how many years it would take to pay off the average home if a buyer contributed 100 per cent of their annual income to the purchase price. The higher the ratio, the longer it would take to pay down the home.
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In the Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board coverage area, the average home price is listed at $509,545, while a median one-person income is $28,900, which means it would take 18 years of fully-dedicated income to pay down a house.
Worse yet were prospects for home ownership in Greater Vancouver, the Fraser Valley, and Greater Toronto, Ont. which had ratios of 28, 25 and 19, respectively.
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“Financial experts commonly recommend restricting shelter costs to just three times one’s annual income — however, this is outstripped by even the most affordable market in Canada,” reads the report.
On the other side of the spectrum was Saint John, N.B where owning the average-priced home of $171,596 on the regional median income of $39,163, would just require four times the homeowner’s annual earnings.
Following behind that were Greater Moncton, N.B.; and Trois Rivieres, Que., which were all tied with a ratio of 4.
The Five Most Affordable Home Markets
- Saint John: 4 (average home price: $171,596, median one-person income: $39,163)
- Greater Moncton: 4 (average home price: $174,800, median one-person income: $39,456)
- Trois Rivieres: 4 (average home price: $153,591, median one-person income: $34,745)
- Fredericton: 5 (average home price: $179,981, median one-person income: $34,724)
- Saguenay: 6 (average home price: $161,587, median one-person income: $29,125)
The Five Least Affordable Home Markets
- Greater Vancouver: 28 (average home price: $1,071,800, median one-person income: $38,164)
- Fraser Valley: 25 (average home price: $795,100, median one-person income: $31,568)
- Greater Toronto: 19 (average home price: $751,700, median one-person income: $39,560)
- Okanagan Mainline: 18 (average home price: $509,545, median one-person income: $28,900)
- Victoria: 17 (average home price: $642,800, median one-person income: $37,793)
