Price Peak? Canada reaches 30 year low for housing affordability

The bad news? It hasn’t gotten easier to afford a home in Canada, not by a long shot. The good news? According to one report, it might be the start of a cheaper era. Here’s the latest update on housing affordability in Canada, in cities coast to coast.

The latest Housing Affordability Monitor, put out by the National Bank of Canada, gives us the rundown. And while some cities are seriously outpacing others on rising prices, every single market covered in the country has experienced year-over-year gains.

Which is great for existing homeowners, don’t get us wrong, but not-so-great for prospective buyers. Accounting for median incomes in each market, it’ll take (on average) anywhere from a couple of years to a few decades to save up, and that’s just for a downpayment.

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Here are the hard stats, according to the report.

1. Vancouver – 377.4 months of saving
2. Victoria – 372.4 months of saving
3. Toronto – 354.5 months of saving
4. Hamilton – 96.9 months of saving
5. Ottawa/Gatineau – 56.9 months of saving
6. Montreal – 47.4 months of saving
7. Calgary – 31.6 months of saving
8. Winnipeg – 31.0 months of saving
9. Quebec City – 28.4 months of saving
10. Edmonton – 27.9 months of saving

On the flipside, the report did highlight a downtrend in home sales, which have slowed 12.8% from the 10-year average. In more practical terms, the report claims that this slowdown “should translate into lower home prices in the months ahead with our current forecast calling for a 10% decline.”

Yeah, not exactly small potatoes, especially when we’re talking about hundreds of thousands of dollars. To check out the report in full for yourself, just click here.