CHECK YOUR COSTS FOR A HOUSE IN MAJOR CANADIAN CITIES

Many say property is the best investment you
can make. Bursting housing bubbles and
mortgage scandals aside, they’re usually right.
The price of making that investment varies
widely in Canada, depending on where you
live. We looked at how much you need to
earn to buy a house in every major Canadian
city.
To get these numbers, we consulted Adrian
Williams, a Toronto mortgage broker, and
used his calculator found here . He explained
that to calculate the income required you
need to know the purchase price, down
payment, rate, utilities – mortgage qualifying
must include a minimum of $100 a month for
heating costs – and taxes.
We got the average purchase price per city
from the Canadian Real Estate Association,
and Williams provided the property tax rates.
At his suggestion we used a 2.99% interest
rate, which is the average qualifying rate for a
5-year fixed term. We used a down payment
of 10% of the purchase price and calculated
$100 a month for utilities.
According to Williams, “Other factors that will
be included with mortgage qualification are
the total monthly payment obligations from
credit card, LOC’s, personal & car loans, car
lease and other types of credit that require a
monthly payment.”
Here is what you need to earn to buy a house
in every major Canadian market. (Numbers
are rounded to the nearest dollar.)

Vancouver
Average price: $819,336
Monthly mortgage payment: $3,570
Property tax: $251
Income required: $147,023

Calgary
Average price: $465,047
Mortgage mortgage payment: $2,026
Property taxes: $236
Income required: $88,578

Edmonton
Average price: $365,520
Mortgage payment: $1,592
Property tax: $244
Salary required: $72,617

Regina
Average price: $331,161
Monthly mortgage payment: $1,443
Property tax: $378
Income required: $72,028

Saskatoon
Average price: $349,322
Monthly mortgage payment: $1,522
Property tax: $366
Income required: $74,546

Winnipeg
Average price: $270,605
Monthly mortgage payment: $1,179
Property tax: $274
Income required: $58,235

Ottawa
Average price: $357,887
Monthly mortgage payment: $1,559
Property tax: $336
Income required: $74,820.28

Toronto
Average price: $587,505
Monthly mortgage payment: $2,560
Property tax: $354
Income required: $113,009

Montreal
Average price: $344,273
Monthly mortgage payment: $1,500
Property tax: $237
Income required: $68,884

Halifax
Average price: $264,447
Monthly mortgage payment: $1,152
Property tax: $266
Income required: $56,929

Source:workopolis