'Never been a harder time': Here's the income you need to buy a home in Canada

• By Shawna Connelly
• Posted Monday, Apr 24, 2023 10:05 am

'Never been a harder time': Here's the income you need to buy a home in Canada

Despite home prices lowering across much of the country, Canadians will still need to earn more to be able to buy a home than compared to last year, according to a new report from RateHub.

The report shows that homebuyers will need an annual income of $217,000 in Toronto as of March 2023 to afford to buy a $1,118,500 home. That’s a $6,250 increase in income compared to March 2022, even though the average home price fell by more than $200,000 in the city in that time, according to RateHub.

You will also need to earn over $200,000 in Vancouver to afford a home, while the rest of the country requires between $75,000 and $170,000.

RateHub co-CEO James Laird told Global News that Canadians now need to earn more to buy a home because interest rates have increased to over five per cent from closer to three per cent last year.

“There’s never been a harder time to purchase a home in Canada,” he said.

Laird said that unless the homebuyer is an extremely high earner, they will need a partner to qualify for the average home in Canada. The increase in mortgage rates also pushes up the required income needed to pass the stress test to be...[READ MORE]