This is what your salary needs to be to buy a house everywhere in the GTA
Information in this post was brought to you by TheRedPin.com, a challenger brand in Canadian real estate that carries the largest database of home listings in Toronto and Vancouver.
The old real estate tenet “don’t buy a house that’s more than three times your income” has little merit in today’s market.
Between the trifecta of record low borrowing costs, monumental price gains and a dire lack of supply across the Greater Toronto Area, working out how much you can afford to spend on your dream home isn’t exactly clear.
See also
- All the places near Toronto you can buy a house on a condo budget
- Open House: A stunning Parkdale loft for under $500,000
The almost universal approach used by mortgage experts to identify affordability is Gross Debt Service Ratio, or GDS for short.
We know, it’s an intimidating term, but stay with us.
Finding your GDS involves adding up all your expenses (mortgage, utilities, property taxes etc.) and dividing them by your household income.
The magic number you’re then looking for is 32 per cent. It serves as a rough guideline of what you can buy on the assumption no more than ⅓ of your salary (or entire household income if you’re not living alone) is going toward your property.
The numbers below all adhere to the 32 per cent rule.
Please note: this analysis covers an average of all home types – detached, semis, towns, and condos combined – and considers a down payment of 20% was made, with an interest rate of 2.49 per cent, municipal property taxes and utility costs.
How much you need to earn to buy a house across the GTA
- Average Home Price: $570,380
- Needed Household Income: $105,743
- Avg. Monthly Mortgage: $2,041
- Property Tax Rate: 1.11%
- Average Home Price: $678,401
- Needed Household Income: $118,893
- Avg. Monthly Mortgage: $2,428
- Property Tax Rate: 0.87%
- Average Home Price: $629,536
- Needed Household Income: $108,246
- Avg. Monthly Mortgage: $2,253
- Property Tax Rate: 0.73
- Average Home Price: $995,666
- Needed Household Income: $168,871
- Avg. Monthly Mortgage: $3,564
- Property Tax Rate: 0.83%
- Average Home Price: $620,606
- Needed Household Income: $109,560
- Avg. Monthly Mortgage: $2,221
- Property Tax Rate: 0.87%
- Average Home Price: $736,932
- Needed Household Income: $124,126
- Avg. Monthly Mortgage: $2,638
- Property Tax Rate: 0.67%
- Average Home Price: $941,068
- Needed Household Income: $162,741
- Avg. Monthly Mortgage: $3,368
- Property Tax Rate: 0.92%
- Average Home Price: $960,118
- Needed Household Income: $161,662
- Avg. Monthly Mortgage: $3,436
- Property Tax Rate: 0.78%
- Average Home Price: $761,080
- Needed Household Income: $134,605
- Avg. Monthly Mortgage: $2,724
- Property Tax Rate: 0.97%
- Average Home Price: $1,066,569
- Needed Household Income: $179,551
- Avg. Monthly Mortgage: $3,818
- Property Tax Rate: 0.81%
- Average Home Price: $921,714
- Needed Household Income: $156,731
- Avg. Monthly Mortgage: $3,299
- Property Tax Rate: 0.82%
- Average Home Price: $920,463
- Needed Household Income: $157,688
- Avg. Monthly Mortgage: $3,295
- Property Tax Rate: 0.86%
- Average Home Price: $568,342
- Needed Household Income: $108,207
- Avg. Monthly Mortgage: $2,034
- Property Tax Rate: 1.27%
- Average Home Price: $599,267
- Needed Household Income: $113,595
- Avg. Monthly Mortgage: $2,145
- Property Tax Rate: 1.27%
- Average Home Price: $574,506
- Needed Household Income: $109,671
- Avg. Monthly Mortgage: $2,056
- Property Tax Rate: 1.29%
- Average Home Price: $427,790
- Needed Household Income: $87,801
- Avg. Monthly Mortgage: $1,531
- Property Tax Rate: 1.57%
- Average Home Price: $753,054
- Needed Household Income: $132,365
- Avg. Monthly Mortgage: $2,695
- Property Tax Rate: 1.42%
Follow Channels and Categories