Alberta city named most affordable to buy a house in Canada
With some big-city dwellers still considering relocation, one report has found that an Alberta city ranked first in affordability to buy in.
The new data comes from Royal LePage, which surveyed Canadians living in the greater regions of Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. Just over half of respondents (51 per cent) said they would consider buying a primary residence in one of Canada’s 15 most affordable cities, if they were able to find a job locally or work remotely.
Lethbridge ranked as Canada’s most affordable city, with 18.9 per cent of a household’s monthly income required to service a mortgage payment.
According to the province, Lethbridge is the fourth-largest city in Alberta, with a population of more than 113,000 as of 2025.
Habanero Pixel/Shutterstock
“A major factor in preserving our city’s long-term affordability has been our ability to build in step with population change. Our growth has been slow and steady, which lets urban planners keep pace with housing development, even through the population booms we saw after the pandemic, as many Canadians moved to southern Alberta in search of a lower cost of living,” said Keith Pushor, sales representative, Royal LePage South Country Real Estate Services.
“When newcomers to Calgary were outbid by rising home prices, they’d often drift south to Lethbridge, a couple of hours from the city. We’ve seen steady home price appreciation as a result, and although that appreciation may seem extreme compared to historical local market trends, it certainly is not to the sharp degree other cities have experienced.”
Lethbridge was followed by Saint John, Thunder Bay (currently ranked third), Red Deer, and Regina. All cities in the top five require no more than 25 per cent of a household’s monthly income to service a mortgage.
Royal LePage
Among Vancouver respondents who would consider moving for affordability, Edmonton is at the top of their list (18 per cent), followed by St. John’s (12 per cent), Charlottetown (10 per cent) and Lethbridge (10 per cent).
The survey also found Sherbrooke was the most popular relocation destination among residents of the Greater Montreal Area; 29 per cent of respondents said they would consider relocating if they were able to find a job locally or work remotely.
You can find the full report on the Royal LePage website.
With files from Allison Stephen