Real Estate

Vancouver real estate: Prices drop, affordability elusive

The price of the average home in Vancouver has fallen by more than $100,000 over the last year, but thanks to soaring interest rates, the amount of money needed to afford such a home has risen, according to Ratehub.ca.

In a new study, the online mortgage brokerage and interest rate comparison website calculated the minimum annual income required to buy an average home in cities across Canada in March, and compared that data to the same calculation for March 2022.

“While home prices are down significantly in the majority of the cities we looked at, the income required to purchase a home still remains inflated due to higher mortgage and stress test rates,” said James Laird, the company’s co-CEO, in a news release Monday.

This dynamic is most extreme in Vancouver, where real estate prices have long been disconnected from local wages.

According to Ratehub.ca, the average home price in

Read more
Real Estate

Canadian Real Estate Affordability Got Worse With Higher Rates, What Gives?

Canadian real estate prices are falling with higher mortgage rates, but has it made it easier to buy? Bank of Canada (BoC) data for December’s new uninsured mortgage loans shows the highest rates in well over a decade. Interest costs are rising faster than prices are falling, meaning worse affordability. The hiccup is due to the speed at which rates increased, and affordability is expected to improve in the coming months.

Canadian Mortgage Rates Have Surged To The Highest Level In Over A Decade

Mortgage rates are on the climb, which isn’t news to anyone in Canada. It’s the speed they climbed that’s remarkable. Average interest on a new mortgage jumped 0.24 points to 5.53% in December. It was 3.53 points higher than a year before, more than doubling the record low recently experienced. Canada hasn’t seen a mortgage rate this high since the Great Recession. 

Canadian Mortgage Rates Have

Read more