Here's how much you now need to make to afford a home in Calgary

It’s no secret that house prices are on the rise in Calgary, and a new report highlighting the minimum income needed to buy a home shows what a difference a month can make.

A report from Ratehub.ca calculated the minimum annual income required to buy an average home in some of Canada’s major cities based on August 2023 and July 2023 real estate data.

The report details how changing mortgage rates, stress test rates, and real estate prices are impacting the income required to buy a home.

In July 2023, Calgarians hoping to buy a home needed to make $119,500 per year to afford one, but that climbed to needing an extra $1,350 in their take-home income in August. One reason is that the average home price increased (🔺$2,500) to $553,800.

Ratehub.ca

Calgary saw the highest increase in house prices, while cities including Vancouver and Toronto saw average costs come down in August 2023. However, housing affordability isn’t getting easier for Canadians despite the decrease.

In Vancouver, while the average home price decreased by $2,300, affordability worsened due to the rise in mortgage rates, with $1,480 in additional income required to purchase a home.

“Mortgage rates continued to increase slightly from July to August 2023 with the stress test remaining above 8%. As a result, home affordability has worsened in the majority of the cities we looked at,” Ratehub said.

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Although requiring a six-digit income to buy a home is becoming more common across the country, our neighbours to the north in Edmonton enjoy much more affordable real estate, with the average income to purchase a home pegged at $86,460.

The only catch? You have to live in Edmonton.