Best and Worst Ontario Cities for Home Affordability [REPORT]

Home prices in Ontario may not be as high as they were in April 2017, as the region has since been impacted by the province’s Fair Housing Plan. However, despite these recent measures to cool runaway price growth and calm demand, the province still boasts some of the highest real estate values in the nation, especially concentrated around markets located within the Greater Golden Horseshoe.

It’s common knowledge that buyers will face much steeper costs to dwell within the City of Toronto – but are surrounding cities friendlier on the finances? To find out, Zoocasa compiled the home-price-to-income ratios in each of the province’s major markets, using median household incomes from Statistics Canada, and average April 2018 home prices provided by the Canadian Real Estate Association.

This ratio helps determine the affordability of real estate within a region, in comparison to the median gross income earned there – it represents the number of years it would take to pay off the average home in full, if a household dedicated 100 per cent of its income to doing so. According to financial experts, the ideal affordability ratio for shelter is three.

The data reveals that, for households with two or more incomes, there are only two housing markets in Ontario that fit this criteria, while none are within the realm of affordability for single-income earners.

Related Read: Best Canadian Markets for Buying a Home on One Income

Check out the best (and worst) Ontario cities for home affordability in the infographic below:

The 5 Most Affordable Ontario Cities

• Thunder Bay – Single Income Ratio: 6, Dual-Income Ratio: 2, Average Home Price: $217,745
• Sudbury – Single Income Ratio: 9, Dual-Income Ratio: 3, Average Home Price: $268,696
• Windsor – Single Income Ratio: 9, Dual-Income Ratio: 4, Average Home Price: $303,183
• Ottawa-Gatineau – Single Income Ratio: 9, Dual-Income Ratio: 4, Average Home Price: $418,232
• Kingston – Single Income Ratio: 10, Dual-Income Ratio: 4, Average Home Price: $366,582

The 5 Least Affordable Ontario Cities

• Greater Toronto – Single Income Ratio: 20, Dual-Income Ratio: 9, Average Home Price: $804,584
• Hamilton – Single Income Ratio: 16, Dual-Income Ratio: 6, Average Home Price: $569,490
• Oakville – Single Income Ratio: 15, Dual-Income Ratio: 5, Average Home Price: $719,000
• Durham – Single Income Ratio: 14, Dual-Income Ratio: 6, Average Home Price: $604,51
• Peterborough – Single Income Ratio: 14, Dual-Income Ratio: 6, Average Home Price: $448,875