Rolling interest rates – dropping modestly but nonetheless declining – are making home ownership ever so slightly more affordable in this country.
The regular assessment of housing affordability in Canada prepared by the team at RBC Royal Bank says we are finally seeing some headway. And Saskatchewan is at the forefront of that story.
It now takes an income of $77,000 a year to qualify for a mortgage to buy the average-priced home in Regina. That is second only to St. John, New Brunswick. Saskatoon comes in at $90,000.
Regina, incidentally, is the most affordable market in a major city in the country.
Now this has a downside too. As falling interest rates enable more people to qualify for mortgages demand is going to rise, triggering prices increases in bidding wars over limited inventory.
But Saskatchewan remains an attractive place for buyers, especially those at the entry level. While it takes $77,000 in income to buy the average house in Regina – and at least half of us meet that test – in Vancouver it takes $273,000.
