What you need to earn to buy a house in every major Canadian city

From foreign buyers gobbling up properties sight unseen to young families trying to raise kids in condo towers, the Canadian housing market is a hot topic of discussion. But what do houses really cost these days? According to the Canadian Real Estate Association (the CREA), the average price in Canada is currently $480,743, an amount that changes from region to region.

To find out just how much it varies, we looked at average house prices in major cities, and then tried to estimate how much income is needed to afford that. For help, we turned to Adrian Williams, a Toronto mortgage broker with an incredibly handy mortgage calculator.

“To calculate an estimated gross income required, you need the purchase price, down payment, interest rate, estimated property taxes, and a minimum of $100 a month for heating costs. Other utilities are not factored in by lending banks,” Williams says.

At William’s suggestion, we used a 2.49% interest rate (based on a 120-day rate hold. This is the average qualifying rate for a 5-year fixed term), and a down payment of 10% of the purchase price.

“Other factors that are included with mortgage qualification are the total monthly payment obligations from credit cards, LOC’s, personal and car loans, car leases, and other types of credit that require a monthly payment,” Williams said.

The CREA’s prices below take into account all residential properties, including detached, semi-detached, townhouse/row houses, apartment units, cottages, duplexes, and triplexes. Median salary information comes from Statistics Canada’s 2014 Metropolitan Area Census, the most recent look at salaries across the country. Numbers are rounded to the nearest dollar, and all property tax figures should be considered rough estimates.

So, without further ado, here is what you need to earn to buy a house in Canadian cities.