Despite softening prices, buying a Vancouver home requires huge income
It’s getting more affordable to purchase a Vancouver home, if you can believe it.
Even though Vancouver has been ranked as one of the toughest places in Canada to buy a home and has been deemed impossibly unaffordable, it actually saw the biggest improvement in affordability for home ownership in a number of major Canadian cities.
Ratehub.ca just released its latest affordability report for July 2026, revealing that declining home prices and a slight mortgage rate drop have improved affordability in 10 of the 13 cities it analyzed.
“Home price changes were the biggest driver of improved affordability this month. The average of the Big Five Banks’ 5-year fixed rates decreased very slightly, but not enough to meaningfully impact affordability,” said Jamie David, Ratehub.ca’s vice president of mortgages, in a release.
Ratehub.ca based its analysis on a mortgage with a 10 per cent down payment, 25-year amortization, $4,000 annual property taxes and $150 monthly heating.
In Vancouver, the average home price fell by $10,300, which David called a “massive” decrease.
According to Ratehub.ca’s analysis, this means that $2,540 less income is required to purchase the average home.
“The Vancouver home buyer in this scenario would pay $70 less on their monthly mortgage payment, or $840 per year, in July compared to if they bought in June,” said David.
However, the income level required to afford the average home in Vancouver is $223,860 — substantially higher than Vancouver’s median salary of about $69,000 per year.
Out of the 13 cities Ratehub.ca looked at, this income is by far the highest. In second place is Toronto, where you need to earn just over $195,000 to be able to afford the average home, followed by Victoria, where you need to earn just over $185,000.
According to Greater Vancouver Realtors, the benchmark price of a home in Greater Vancouver was $1,088,800 in July, a one per cent month-over-month decline and a 6.2 per cent year-over-year decline.
The cost of borrowing dipped slightly, with the average five-year fixed mortgage rate among Canada’s big five banks dropping from 4.57 per cent in June to 4.54 per cent in July.
If you’re looking to make a home purchase, David advised prospective home-buyers to shop around with mortgage rates currently available.
“Understanding how different rates and borrowing costs affect your monthly payments can help you determine how much home you can comfortably afford based on your income, down payment, and overall budget,” he said.