Here's how much you need to make to afford a home in Victoria

The bad? You need to make over $170,000 per year to afford one (unless you recently won the lottery).

According to a recent report from Ratehub (an award-winning national mortgage comparison service), prices of homes in the BC capital have gone down 1.2% ($10,200) since the new year. Based on January data, the average price of a home in the Capital Region is a whopping $847,900 (down from $858,100).

For any household making the average salary in Victoria ($52,615, according to Talent.ca), purchasing a home in the city is a pipe dream. To afford that type of home, your household would need a minimum salary of $170,360.

To put that into perspective, the average price of a home in Halifax, Nova Scotia (a city almost equal in size to Victoria), is $518,500. That said, Halifax’s home prices are up 1.3%.

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Winter tends to be slow when it comes to home sales, and the numbers appear to reflect it. Not only that, but upcoming Airbnb legislation has seen many homeowners planning to sell their short-term rentals at a lower price — but no one is looking to buy.

Ratehub’s analysis found affordability improved in all major Canadian cities it studied between December and January. But looking forward, its analysts doubt 2024 will bring in a new era of affordability for Canadians.