Toronto's and Ontario's real estate markets are still incredibly hard landscapes to buy an average-priced home, for the average worker.

According to the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) the current national average home price was $662,437 in February 2023. While that is far from the last spring average, it's not exactly affordable.

To purchase an average-priced home in Toronto, an investment currently sitting at around $1.1 million, you would need to make at least $168,000 per year, according to Zoocasa's latest report.

Unfortunately, that is incredibly far from the average median household income for Toronto residents, a mere $96,700.

It's not just Toronto that is far off either; Niagara, Hamilton-Burlington, Kitchener-Waterloo, Kawartha Lakes and Barrie are other Ontario cities where the media income household average is less than the required income to purchase a home.

Don't bet on purchasing a house in Vancouver either (unless you are incredibly wealthy), where the median household income of $98,640 will not qualify you to purchase an average home at $1,123,400.

If you do want to eventually purchase your own house (and haven't given up yet) you might want to look at London-St. Thomas, where the average home costs $583, 5000 and the average median income is $94,070.

Perhaps you are more into the vibe of Windsor-Essex, where the median income of $92,180 is slightly more than enough to purchase an average home at $565, 400.

The same goes for Ottawa, where the average income of $121, 790 is more than enough to be able to purchase a $613k average-priced home.

Moving out of province, it's much more affordable to become a home-owner in Regina, where the average income is hovering at $106k, but the average home price is $310,200.

Median home prices versus median household income in Canadian cities. Image via Zoocasa.

This Zoocasa reports that Calgary, Montreal, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Halifax-Darthmourt, Saskatoon, Regina, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Saint John (basically everywhere but Ontario and B.C.) are all cities where the median household income is higher than the income required to purchase an average home.

Maybe it's not just Alberta calling but also the rest of Canada?

BlogTO(Sabrina Gamrot, March 26,2023)