Toronto’s real estate market truly is one-of-a-kind in its ability to be simultaneously in desperate need of more housing stock yet somehow overrun with homes for sale, and persistently pricey despite far fewer people actually buying than in the city’s bidding war glory days.
As realtors continue to report the same abysmal sales numbers we’ve been seeing for months now, prices have only eased ever-so-slightly, and in the case of some housing types in some areas of the GTA — detached houses and townhomes in the 416, specifically — are even still rising.
Even taking the struggling condo segment into account, given present market conditions, interest rates and price points, the amount you would need to earn per year to afford the typical home in the city is increasing.
According to a new report from Ratesdotca, the widening gap between the average income of a family in the 6ix and the average income required to float the average mortgage has now reached a figure that is on its own higher than most people’s salaries.
Experts losing confidence that Toronto’s housing market is going to heat back uphttps://t.co/rbbwkREYRD
— blogTO (@blogTO) September 3, 2024
“The current trade war and economic instability have slowed housing markets even further across the country, yet in some cities, home prices have yet to drop significantly and affordability is still a challenge,” the rate comparison website wrote on Thursday.
“In Toronto, the gap between what the average household can afford and what they need to make in order to afford the average-priced home is the second-highest in the country behind Vancouver.”
With the mean price of a home in T.O. sitting at $1,061,900 as of February, prospective buyers need to be raking in $232,000 per year — lofty for a couple, and if you’re single? May as well forget about it unless you’re a highly paid executive.
Per Ratesdotca’s numbers, the average Toronto household earns a lesser $136,535 annually, also as of February. This makes the difference between “can” and “can’t” afford to get the standard home into the local real estate market a staggering $95,465 — a figure way above many people’s salaries.
By comparison, residents in both Edmonton and Calgary are generally able to cover a mortgage with some cash left over, given the cities’ lower real estate price tags and higher salaries.
Mortgage calculations were based on a minimum down payment of 5 per cent on the first $500,000 and 10 per cent on amounts above that, plus the 6.7 per cent stress test rate and 25-year amortization. For condos, property taxes, heating and condo fees were also considered in the equation.
The disparity between what the typical household brings in each year and what they would actually need to earn to be able to afford the average home in cities across Canada is largest in Vancouver, followed by Toronto. Infographic from Ratesdotca.
Ratesdotca experts say that in light of the recession and political tensions with the U.S., the market is far from encouraging for even the would-be homeowners who can afford it, who are likely “uneasy taking on a large debt such as a mortgage in uncertain times.”
Still, they assert that in “traditionally desirable” and exorbitant markets like Toronto and our western counterpart, Vancouver, “we are unlikely to see significant price decreases in the near future,” even in the face of plummeting sales activity and all that’s going on in Canada right now.
