A new report has ranked Vancouver as the least affordable city in North America, with Toronto not far behind in third place. It’s not the first time these two cities have topped (or bottomed) an affordability ranking, but it is the latest to show just how pricey Canada’s priciest cities are.
In an annual report released by Oxford Economics, Vancouver ranked as the least affordable city in North America, followed by Boise, Idaho in second, and Toronto in third. The report stated that across North America the housing affordability index ‘deteriorated’ as ‘home price inflation outpaced income growth’.
Essentially, when the housing demand outpaces the supply and the inflation of housing prices outpaces the income growth of those cities, the ratio of the index creeps above 1. And then, it just keeps going…
As we all know, Toronto and Vancouver are facing massive supply shortages as real estate demand continues to boom, with other Canadian cities not too far behind.
Toronto and Vancouver weren’t the only two Canadian cities cracking the top ten of the least affordable in North America, as Hamilton rose to a 5th place finish and Ottawa came in 9th,.
Interestingly, Canadian cities also did well on the other side of the coin, as Quebec City (#2), Edmonton (#4), Winnipeg (#6), and Calgary (#9) all made the list of most affordable cities in North America.
If you want to take a look at the Oxford report yourself, you can check it out here.
