VANCOUVER—It would take a millennial homebuyer about 20 years to save for a down payment in this city, compared to 4.6 years in Toronto and one year in Edmonton.
That’s according to a new survey from Point2Homes, a real-estate listing website that looked at the median price of homes in several Canadian cities and calculated how many years it would take people in their 20s and 30s to save for a down payment.
Vancouver’s average home price is $1.5 million, compared to $870,559 in Toronto and $377,125 in Edmonton. Using median incomes from each city, Point2Homes then calculated how long it would take to save up a down payment if a potential homebuyer set aside 20 per cent of his or her income every month.
Vancouver’s relatively low incomes (the median is $72,390) combined with some of the highest average home prices in Canada combine to push home prices out of reach, according to Point2Homes, although the calculation changes if prospective homebuyers earn a higher income and are planning to buy a lower-priced condo in East Vancouver or the suburbs.
