In November, the Canadian housing market displayed signs of a slowdown, with most cities witnessing decreased home prices and income requirements, except for one.
Calgary stood out as an exception to this trend, experiencing an uptick in both the average home price and the income required for property purchases.
Ratehub.ca, a platform dedicated to comparing mortgage rates and financial products, revealed a noteworthy trend last month: a decrease in the minimum income required to purchase a home across nine of the ten cities it scrutinized.
However, Calgary stood as the lone exception, grappling with a setback in affordability as the average home price surged by $2,000 to reach $557,400.
Consequently, potential home buyers in Alberta’s largest city found themselves needing an extra $660 in income to meet the costs of an average-priced home, marking a departure from the trends observed in October.
Hamilton, on the other hand, experienced a substantial drop in the average home price by $23,400 to settle at $805,700.
James Laird, co-founder of Ratehub.ca, highlighted Hamilton and Toronto as the two cities experiencing the most substantial declines in home values and income requirements.
“Home values and the income required to purchase a home decreased in nine out of the 10 cities we looked at,” explained Laird.
“Hamilton continued to see the most improvement, with $4,160 less income needed to purchase a home. Toronto remained close behind with $3,850 less income required. Both these cities saw big home price declines, with a $23,400 drop for Hamilton and $22,300 for Toronto.”
According to Laird, the rest of the country can expect the trend of home values dropping to continue.
“Affordability improved for the second month in a row due to home values dropping and mortgage rates holding steady in November,” said Laird.
