Income needed to buy a house in Calgary dropped by thousands this year

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It’s no surprise to many that Calgary’s housing market has become unaffordable for many, but the good news is the income required to buy a home in the city has finally dipped.

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 data gathered between December 2023 and January 2024.

ratehub.ca

In December last year, Calgarians needed to make $120,450 per year to buy their own home in the city. Today, Calgarians need to make $117,100 to achieve their homeowner dreams.

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That number is still far out of reach for many Calgarians, and the price of homes has increased by almost as much. In December 2023, the average cost of a home in Calgary was $554,500. That number has now jumped to $557,500.

Despite the disparity, James Laird, the co-CEO of Ratehub.ca and president of CanWise mortgage lender, says the outlook for homebuyers is still better than it was.

“The income required to purchase a home decreased in every city we looked at,” he said.

“In cities where home prices increased, the drop in interest rates was enough to offset the price increases such that affordability still improved.”

Meanwhile, our neighbours to the north are enjoying average home prices below six figures, unlike most of the rest of the country.

Cities including Edmonton, Vancouver, and Toronto saw average house prices decrease in January. While buying conditions have slightly improved, a warmer-than-expected January market could mean this affordability break for buyers could be short-lived, Ratehub noted.

The Canadian Real Estate Association found that sales rose by 22% year-over-year, the highest annual gain since May 2021.