The amount of income required to buy a home in Vancouver decreased last month compared to April, but the amount needed is still excessive for most people.
Throughout 2025 thus far, the real estate market has favoured homebuyers with lower prices and lower mortgage rates, but things are turning around as the market seems to be rebounding.
RateHub has shared some of the trends it is observing, along with the amount of income required to purchase a home in the city.
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Ratehub’s methodology is based on a 10 per cent down payment, 25-year amortization, $4,000 annual property taxes, and $150 monthly heating costs. It adds that the mortgage rates it uses for its data are the average of the big five banks’ five-year fixed rates in April and May.
Data for average home prices comes from CREA MLS.
Looking at Vancouver data from April, the income required to buy a home with an average home price of $1,184,600 was $238,970. In May, based on an average home price of $1,177,1000, that income required dropped to $237,550.
That amounts to a $7,500 drop in home prices between April and May and a $1,420 drop in income required. According to RateHub’s data, mortgage payments also decreased by an average of $38.
RateHub says “affordability is measured by the income required to qualify for a mortgage to purchase the average-priced home in each market, as well as corresponding monthly mortgage payments.”
How many residents are making that much money?
Average income estimates for Vancouver vary depending on the source. ZipRecruiter says that the average salary in Vancouver this month is $69,512. A two-person household making an average income of $140,000 would still be far below RateHub’s numbers for what is required.
The Metro Vancouver Regional District (MVRD) also has some numbers on median household income, comparing homeowners and renters.
“The median household income of homeowners in Metro Vancouver was 60 per cent greater than the income of renters. Median incomes of renters ranged from $51,600 in Electoral Area A (including UBC) to a high of $135,000 in the Village of Lions Bay. For homeowners, median incomes varied from $78,500 in Electoral Area A (including UBC) to $170,000 in the Village of Anmore,” MVRD says in a February report.
Turning back to RateHub’s report, no city comes close to Vancouver when looking at the income required to buy a home. Toronto is the second-highest, and in May, an income of $206,500 was needed to buy a home with an average price of $1,012,800.
“It’s only one month of data, and one car doesn’t make a parade, but there is a sense that maybe the expected turnaround in housing activity this year was just delayed for a few months by the initial tariff chaos and uncertainty,” stated Shaun Cathcart, CREA’s Senior Economist, in the association’s May release.
RateHub reports that the average Canadian home price was $691,299, representing a 1.8% decline on an annual basis, but a 1.9% increase from April.
St. John’s saw the most significant increase ($1,690) in the income required to buy a home, and in May, that number stood at $86,450, based on an average home price of $378,300.