Here's how much home space $300,000 gets you in major Canadian cities

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As rents across the nation rise beyond affordability, Canadians are considering buying a home, especially for the space homes offer.

The average Canadian home spans about 1,700 square feet.

Right now, even though the national median home price has fallen under $630,000, high interest rates have potential buyers on the fence. But what can you get if you only have half of that amount to spare?

Point2homes, a website that covers and examines real estate market trends and news, studied the housing market and came up with the average square footage $300,000 can get you in different parts of Canada.

Point2Homes

For their study, the real estate news blog considered the 50 most populous cities in Canada and focused on 43 cities based on data availability. Some cities were excluded from the study due to a lack of data. This includes Longueuil, Quebec; Greater Sudbury, Ontario; Lévis, Quebec; Langley Township, BC; Kingston, Ontario; Terrebonne, Quebec; and Saanich, BC.

Point2Homes discovered that $300,000 “doesn’t even cover a mere 500 square feet in 20 of the most populous cities in Canada.” This includes Montréal (Quebec), Mississauga (Ontario), and Brampton (Ontario).

The price of property per square foot in Vancouver and Toronto averages about $1,200. That’ll get you a mere 250 square feet.

But the good news is that it isn’t all that bad in other cities. Let’s take a look at what you can get for $300,000 across Canada.

Quebec:

In Montreal, you might only be able to get 262 square feet of space for $300,000, but there are other areas you can consider. Here’s what the $300,000 breakdown looks like for other Quebec cities:

Laval — 870 square feet
Gatineau — 1,190 square feet
Quebec City — 1,382 square feet
Sherbrooke 1,493 square feet
Saguenay — 1,695 square feet
Trois-Rivière — 1,695 square feet

With the exception of Montreal and Laval, most cities in the province offer more than 1,100 square feet of space for $300,000.

Newfoundland:

St. John in Newfoundland falls third in the affordability-per-square-foot ranking. It’s the only NL city to make it on Point2Homes list of 10 major Canadian cities where you can get a sizeable home for $300,000.

Point2Homes

In St. John, the price per square footage rivals that of Saguenay or Trois-Rivière — just around $200 per square foot or less.

Alberta:

If you’re thinking of buying a home in Edmonton, you can get 1,115 square feet of space for $300,000, with a price of about $229/square foot. While Calgary doesn’t match up, it definitely looks affordable compared to other Canadian cities.

“The same amount gets you a more modest 831 square feet in Calgary,” Point2Homes determines.

More space for less makes the prairies an ideal region for home-hunting.

British Columbia:

You’ll get the least amount of home space in Vancouver and Richmond (255-377 square feet) followed by Burnaby, Surrey, and Coquitlam where you can get 412 to 473 square feet for $300,000.

Of the cities surveyed in the province, Abbotsford (783 square feet) and Kelowna (651 square feet) offer the most bang for your buck.

Ontario:

It is no surprise that Downtown Toronto took the cake for having the most expensive tiny homes at 247 square feet — just five square feet beyond Vancouver’s average price.

Here’s what the $300,000 breakdown looks like across the GTA and the rest of Ontario.

Oakville — 383 square feet
Mississauga — 395 square feet
Markham — 403 square feet
Burlington — 404 square feet
Vaughan — 420 square feet
Guelph — 435 square feet
Waterloo — 448 square feet
Cambridge — 459 square feet
Kitchener — 459 square feet
Milton — 464 square feet
Brampton — 492 square feet
St. Catharines — 497 square feet
Whitby — 521 square feet
Ajax — 524 square feet
Oshawa — 547 square feet
Hamilton — 547 square feet
Barrie — 596 square feet
Ottawa — 600 square feet
London — 658 square feet
Windsor — 980 square feet

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Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Nova Scotia:

Saskatoon and Regina homes tend to be more central yet generous, offering 1,079 square feet and 1,255 square feet for $300,000, respectively.

In Winnipeg, MB, you can get roughly 1,075 square feet of home space for the same amount.

Halifax stands in the middle of the road, offering around 699 square feet.

Year-end forecast

The current national average price of $630,000 for a home is lower than it has been but still unaffordable. It is 10 times the median income.

That said, another plunge in home prices is expected to hit the market as 2022 closes.