Last month, owning a home in Vancouver got a bit better, but it likely hasn’t moved the needle enough regarding the income still required for most residents.
According to Ratehub, some buyers in September “enjoyed a sweet spot” for affordability due to lower mortgage rates, softening home prices, and more supply.
Still, Vancouver sits atop Canada for the most income required to buy a home, and it is still the city with the highest home prices in the country.
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Ratehub’s report is based on September data, and for Vancouver, that meant an average home price of $1,179,700, a bit of a drop from August, when the average home cost $1,195,900.
In September, the annual income required to buy a home was $219,000, based on a stress test rate of 7.04% and a mortgage rate of 5.04%.
That was a $5,000 drop compared to August.
The average income in Vancouver depends on what publication you’re looking at, but sites like Talent.com and ZipRecruiter don’t place the average household income in Vancouver anywhere near that $219,000 mark.
Talent.com reports Vancouver’s average salary as $70,138 per year for one person, while ZipRecruiter slightly lowers it to $69,512 for individuals. CMHC says the average household income in Vancouver, before taxes, was $117,300 in 2021.
An income survey conducted by Statistics Canada found that in 2022, the median after-tax income of Canadian families and unattached individuals was $70,500.
It becomes clear just how expensive Vancouver is when compared to a city like Calgary. In September, the average home price in Calgary was $582,100, and the annual income required to purchase a home in Calgary was $115,600.
The good news is that Ratehub says mortgage rates are expected to fall further, and borrowers “can expect a lower interest rate environment over the next year.”
We’ve spoken to some real estate analysts and covered various real estate reports that have stated we’ll likely see a continued decrease before prices rise again in 2025. Whether prices have dropped enough for residents is another question entirely, and it doesn’t seem to be any easier for some renters.
Do these numbers make purchasing a home any more manageable for you? Let us know in the comments.