POV: You Did Everything Right and Still Can't Afford a House

Описание: POV: You Did Everything Right and Still Can't Afford a House

You got the degree. You landed the job. You saved. And the goalpost moved anyway. This is the story of how Canadian housing went from 3x your income to 9x — and what's actually driving it.

SOURCES (all figures as cited on screen):

• National average home price ~$685,000: Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) 2026 annual forecast of $686,710, released July 15, 2026. (A forecast, not a completed-year average.)
• Median after-tax income ~$75,000: Statistics Canada, table 11-10-0190-01 — median after-tax income for all economic families and unattached individuals combined was $75,500 for reference year 2024, released April 29, 2026.
• The ~9x ratio: $686,710 ÷ $75,500 ≈ 9.1. Note this compares a national average price (forecast) with a median after-tax income — an illustrative shorthand, not a like-for-like median-to-median measure. For reference, Demographia's 2026 international survey (median price to median gross household income, major markets, Q3 2025 data) put Canada at 5.4x vs 5.2x UK and 4.5x US, and found Canada was one of only two of the eight nations studied where affordability did not improve in 2025.
• City ratios are illustrative: August 2026 average/benchmark prices compared against approximate $82–85K household incomes, not city-specific median multiples.
• Vancouver ~$1.08M composite benchmark: Greater Vancouver REALTORS, August 2026.
• Toronto ~$990,000 average sale price: TRREB, August 2026.
• Edmonton ~$470,000: Realtors Association of Edmonton, August 2026 — average selling price $469,602.
• Winnipeg ~$440,000: August 2026 detached average $439,216 (year-to-date detached average $468,679).
• Mortgage example: 20% down on a $690,000 home = $138,000 down; $552,000 mortgage at 5% over 25 years ≈ $3,227/month principal & interest, before property tax, insurance, utilities and maintenance. Qualifying income of ~$150,000 assumes the 5% contract rate, 25-year amortization, ~1% property tax plus heating, at a 32% gross debt service ratio.
• 1980 comparison: average Canadian home price ≈ $67,000 in 1980 (historical CREA series); 1980 price-to-income ratio 2.8x; prices +~900% since 1980 in nominal terms; inflation-adjusted prices roughly tripled (real index 303) while real median household income barely moved (real index 109) — decade-by-decade table via WealthNorth, compiled from CREA prices and Statistics Canada Census / Survey of Consumer Finances / Canadian Income Survey incomes, with Bank of Canada CPI adjustment; 2025–2026 figures are estimates.
• Supply: Canada has the lowest housing supply per capita among G7 countries (WealthNorth, 2026).

This video is for education and entertainment — not financial advice. Prices and rates move; do your own homework before making housing decisions.

New videos every week. 🇨🇦