Toronto is officially less affordable than all but one US city
Anyone living in Toronto knows that housing here isn’t exactly affordable. In fact, compared to cities all across North America, Toronto is exceptionally unaffordable.
The latest North American housing affordability report form Oxford Economics found that Toronto is the third-least affordable city on the entire continent. It was beat out only by Vancouver, which came in first, and one unexpected US city: Boise, Idaho.
Oxford Economics
Two other Ontario cities made the list, with Hamilton coming in as the fifth-least affordable city, and Ottawa as the ninth-least affordable.
Oxford Economics
So it comes as no surprise that Canada as a whole is considered less affordable than the US. And although affordability is expected to worsen in both countries in the coming months and years, Oxford Economics anticipates that it will worsen more quickly in Canada.
Oxford Economics
- You might also like:
- These are the cheapest downtown Toronto condos to sell this month
- Parents gifting first-time Toronto homebuyers $130K on average for down payment
Canada’s lack of affordability is largely tied to the fact that housing prices do not match current salaries. During the second quarter of 2021, home prices were a whopping 35% above the borrowing capacity for the country’s median income.
Oxford Economics
Although it’s accelerated in recent months, this gap has been growing for quite some time, The difference between Toronto’s benchmark house price and the price of what is considered an affordable house in the city has grown steadily over the past 10 years, leading to the current discrepancy of roughly $400,000.