Just 26% of Canadian Households Can Afford a Single Family Home: RBC Report

A lack of housing affordability means that just 45 percent of Canadian households can afford a regular condo apartment and only 26 percent can afford a single-family home, says a new report from RBC. “The significant loss of affordability during the pandemic has shrunk the pool of homebuyers in Canada,” said RBC Economist and report author Robert Hogue. “The situation is particularly tense in Vancouver, Victoria and Toronto where the costs of owning a home are sky-high. Ottawa, Montreal and Halifax also face challenging affordability conditions.” According to the report, the number of people who can afford a condo or single-family home varies across the country. Between 70 to 80 percent of people in Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, Alberta, and Saskatchewan could afford a modest condo. That number was slightly above 50 percent in provinces like Nova Scotia and Quebec, and far below it in Ontario and B.C....