Canada real estate: Affordability falls as income needed to buy a home increases

While mortgage rates have softened slightly, rising home prices have eroded improvements in housing affordability, a new analysis has found. While mortgage rates have softened slightly, rising home prices have eroded improvements in housing affordability, a new analysis has found., the minimum income required to purchase an average-priced home increased in 11 of the 13 markets examined between January and February.

Ratehub.ca calculated the income required to purchase an average-priced home based on a mortgage with a 20-year downpayment, 25-year amortization, $4,000 in annual property taxes and $150 for monthly heating. The mortgage rates used – 5.71 per cent in January and 5.63 per cent in February – were the average of the Big Five banks' five-year fixed rates at the time. Average home price data were from the Canadian Real Estate Association's average home price index.

Laird notes that the fluctuations in income requirements are less than the swings seen in previous months, due to interest rates and house prices moving in opposite directions. Ratehub.ca expects that affordability will continue to decline, as the market is showing signs that the spring season will bring about strong demand.

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Source: Real Estate Daily Report (realestatedailyreport.net)

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