A new study reveals that St. John’s is the most affordable place to be a first-time home buyer, followed by Regina, Saskatoon, Quebec City, and Edmonton.
Research by real estate experts Edmonton Homes compared and ranked the 25 most populated cities in Canada across three metrics: average annual income compared to house prices, property tax, and electricity bills to reveal the most affordable city for first-time homeowners.
Edmonton Homes graded cities on a 50-point scale, with 50 being the most affordable rate.
St. John’s ranks first on the list with an affordability score of 58.8 points out of 70. The city’s homeowners’ median salary of $104,630 forms 37.31% of the average house prices in the city.
Homeowners pay $3,650 in property taxes for a $500,000 house. Annual electricity bills equate to 1.58% of the average yearly income.
Canadian Taxpayers Federation Federal Director Franco Terrazzano says Canada must build more homes in Canada and that means cutting the red tape and taxes that make home building more expensive.
“All levels of government have work to do to make life more affordable for Canadians,” Terrazzano told True North.
Regina is second on the most affordable city for first-time homebuyers scoring 56.6 points. The average house price stands at $284,334, or 37.40% of residents’ median wage. Property tax will take 5.05% of homeowners’ median salary.
Saskatoon takes third place with an affordability score of 56.1 points. With an average housing price of $279,800, the homeowners’ median annual income of $102,830 equates to 36.75% of it.
Terrazzano also said city governments need to stop wasting so much money and cut property taxes.
“The federal government in particular has increased the cost of living with its runaway spending, money printing and tax hikes,” he said.
Quebec City ranks fourth on the list with an affordability score of 52.2 out of 70. Average house prices in the city are pegged at $357,754 — 29.31% of the average homeowner’s income.
Edmonton rounds out the top five with an affordability score of 46.4. Homeowners in the city will see their median annual income of $107,450 constitute 29.04% of house prices, which average $370,068. The city’s property tax costs 4.04% of the median income.
Winnipeg, Calgary, Montreal, Ottawa and London, Ont. finished off the list of the top 10 most affordable cities.
A September report from the Alberta Treasury Branch found that almost 10,000 more people moved to Alberta from other parts of Canada in the second quarter of 2022.
In the same quarter, Ontario lost the largest number of people to interprovincial immigration and contributed the most number of new Alberta residents.
