Yay, we’re third…worst!
According to the Frontier Centre for Public Policy, Vancouver is the third least affordable city to own a home…in the world (link). The average income (not sure if this is personal or household – my bet is household) in Vancouver is $63,000 a year, and the average cost of a home is $620,000 (source). I wonder if the average cost is heavily skewed towards the cost of detached homes compared with the cost of condos and attached homes – does anyone have data on these – i.e. the cost/frequency distribution of homes in Vancouver?
In any case, I’m not entirely sure who’s buying the expensive detached homes. There are only so many 6-figure jobs out there, and I doubt a bank will loan a over a half million dollars to a family bringing in $63,000 a year (especially given the new mortgage regulations that require 20% down payment on any home in order to avoid purchasing default insurance – ranging between $5890-20,615 for a $620,000 home, assuming you put down the minimum %5 – link).
