Montreal Used To Be Affordable. A 2022 Global Housing Ranking Proves It’s All Over

With record inflation in Canada pushing up the cost of pretty much everything, it’s no surprise the Canadian housing market is also absolutely bonkers.

In the most recent edition of the Demographia International Housing Affordability (DIHA) report, the cost of buying a home in many Canadian cities has become "severely unaffordable," Montreal included!

With the prices for Montreal properties for sale jumping yet again, it really doesn't come as a shock that a city once known to be a low-cost place to call home, has fallen completely off the list of affordable cities in Canada.

The report measured affordability using "median multiples," a price-to-income ratio, which takes into consideration the median house price divided by the gross median household income pre-tax.

According to the 2022 report, "the markets in Canada have a median multiple of 6.0," which falls in the "severely unaffordable" category.

As if that wasn't bad enough, Canada's median multiple was set at 4.4 in 2019 pre-pandemic, indicating a major jump. "This increase of 1.6 years in median household income is the largest among included nations in the report," the DIHA said.

Montreal found itself above average with a median multiple of 6.1, making it clear that things aren't looking so hot for those of us in the 514.

As for the least affordable market in all of Canada, Vancouver takes the win with a median multiple of 13.3.

Toronto didn't fall too far behind, coming in with a median multiple of 10.5.

While Van City, Toronto, and Montreal are looking rather bleak when it comes to housing affordability, two Canadian cities managed to make the top 10 of most affordable.

Edmonton, Alberta took the fourth spot with a median multiple of 3.6, while Calgary found itself in the tenth spot at 4.0 — seems like Alberta is the place to live if you want to be able to afford your own residence.

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.