Canadian House Affordability – Province Comparisons

British Columbia : Alberta : Ontario : Quebec : New Brunswick : Nova Scotia : Newfoundland : Saskatchewan

See comparisons table.


New Brunswick House
A New Brunswick House

The Provinces Compared

One of the major attractions of a move to Canada used to be the cost of housing compared with other western countries.

Newcomers to Canada – particularly from Europe, the UK and Australasia – traditionally enjoyed a double benefit when they bought property in Canada.

›› Firstly, any initial funds they brought with them stretched farther in most parts of Canada than in their own housing markets.
›› Secondly, the ratio of wages to house prices in most parts of Canada was more favourable than in many other countries. (British Columbia, where the country’s mildest weather is found, was a major exception.)

These advantages have lessened in recent years, because the Canadian dollar has strengthened, and real estate prices in Canada have risen.

In most provinces, house affordability has worsened in the last few years.

Nevertheless, several of Canada’s provinces still have property prices that rank among the lowest in the western world.

In the table below, the higher the ranking, the more expensive are houses relative to wages.

Canadian House Affordability

(Affordability measured by the number of years of gross average wage needed to buy an average house.)

Province Affordability Fourth Quarter 2012 Affordability Third Quarter 2010 Affordability Second Quarter 2008
British Columbia 11.2 11.5 11.1
Ontario 8.0 7.2 7.0
Alberta 6.8 6.7 7.8
Quebec 6.7 6.2 5.6
Saskatchewan 6.1 5.3 6.1
Manitoba 6.2 5.3 5.0
Nova Scotia 5.1 4.8 5.4
Newfoundland / Labrador 6.2 5.3 4.7
Prince Edward Island 4.3 4.0 4.4
New Brunswick 4.1 3.9 3.7
Canadian Average 7.8 7.4 7.4