An $85,000 salary isn't enough to 'comfortably' afford a home in Calgary
If you’re looking to buy a home in Calgary, a new report just revealed that even an $85,000 salary may not be enough to do it comfortably.
A new report from the real estate platform Zoocasa looked at home prices across 23 cities and compared them to annual salaries between $55,000 and $85,000, and showed how much typical monthly take-home pay would need to go towards a mortgage.
For Calgary, the report compared monthly mortgage costs, based on the city’s benchmark home price and a 20 percent down payment, to monthly take-home pay across different salary levels.
Zoocasa grouped affordability into four categories based on how much monthly take-home pay goes towards housing costs: zero to 30 per cent is considered comfortable, 31 to 50 per cent is considered stretched, 51 to 75 per cent is considered highly stretched, and anything above 76 per cent is considered not realistic.
At a $55,000 salary in Alberta, the average monthly take-home pay comes to around $3,657. With an estimated monthly mortgage payment of $2,772 in Calgary, more than 76 per cent of income would need to go towards housing, putting it in the “not realistic” category.
At a $65,000 salary, take-home pay rises to about $4,212, but housing costs would still take up somewhere between 51 and 75 per cent of monthly income, putting it in the “highly stretched” category.
- You might also like:
- Alleged impaired driver calls RCMP on himself after wanting a burger from fast food restaurant
- TV to travel: What will change in Alberta with permanent daylight saving time
- 21 spectacular things to do in Calgary this May
With a $75,000 salary, monthly take-home pay increases to $4,759, but mortgage costs still fall within the same range, keeping it “highly stretched.”
With an $85,000 salary, monthly take-home pay reaches $5,324; however, housing still accounts for more than half of the income, meaning it remains in the “highly stretched” range.
“Mid‑priced cities like Calgary, Montreal, Ottawa, and Kitchener–Waterloo still tend to require more than half of take‑home pay for a benchmark mortgage at this income level, which will feel demanding for most solo households,” the report stated.
Zoocasa
Edmonton was the only other Alberta city included in the report, where a $55,000 salary fell into the “highly stretched” category, while all higher salary levels sat in the “stretched” category.
You can find the full report online.