The Most Affordable Cities To Buy A Home In Canada (Outside Quebec) According To RE/MAX

RE/MAX has released its housing affordability report for the first half of 2022, ranking the most affordable cities in Canada based on analyses by brokers in 24 markets across the country — Quebec excluded. The report also includes a Leger survey on Canadians' outlook on real estate.

The report states that, for 64% of survey respondents, relocation is seen as a "top sacrifice they'd be willing to make in order to achieve housing affordability." Though many wouldn't go very far — RE/MAX says half of those people wanted to stay within a 100-kilometre radius.

For 43% of respondents, "the high price of real estate in their area was a barrier to entry into the market," according to the real estate company.

"Despite affordability challenges across the cost-of-living spectrum, Canadians are still eager to engage in the housing market – even if it means making some sacrifices in the short-term to achieve affordable home ownership," RE/MAX Canada President Christopher Alexander states in the report.

He adds: "While we wait for governments to implement a national housing strategy to boost Canada's supply of affordable housing, in the short-term the market is starting to cool and balance itself out, bringing some much-needed relief from the sky-high prices that we experienced during much of the pandemic. This trend is largely being driven by higher interest rates."

RE/MAX looked at two metrics to determine the cheapest major markets in Canada (outside Quebec): average residential selling price and share of income that goes toward mortgage payments.

Of the cities RE/MAX studied, Brandon, Manitoba, had the lowest average selling price: $310,252. Regina, Saskatchewan ($323,950); St. John’s, Newfoundland ($332,900); Moncton, New Brunswick ($337,992); and Red Deer, Alberta ($356,779) followed.

But it was in Red Deer where the share of income spent on a mortgage was lowest (25.86%), followed by Regina (26.94%), Brandon (27.73%), Edmonton, Alberta (29.64%), Thunder Bay, Ontario (29.78%), Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (31.06%), St. John's (31.45%) and Moncton (33.4%).