How much do you need to earn in order to buy a house in the GTA?

Buying a home is one of the biggest investments people can make in their lives. And after all the saving to make a downpayment, what it comes down to is how much you earn and whether your income can support your purchase.

Real estate listing service TheRedPin.com looked at what a person’s salary has to be in order to buy a home in the Greater Toronto Area. The analysis is based on a combined household income as opposed to an individual’s salary.

TheRedPin.com considered five home types – detached home, semi-detached, townhouse, condo townhouse and a condo apartment – in the GTA as a whole, and also in specific cities in the region. It provides a breakdown of the required household income, the average monthly mortgage, the average monthly property tax, and potential condo fees.

In July, the Bank of Canada cut its overnight lending rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 0.5 per cent. Less than 24 hours later, the country’s big banks cut their prime interest rate by 0.15 percentage points to 2.7 per cent.

However, the real estate listing service based its calculation on an interest rate of 2.49 per cent and average utility costs coming in at $250 a month.

For example, in the GTA, TheRedPoint.com said for a detached home that costs $800,790, the household income needed is $140,610. The average monthly mortgage payment would run $2,866 with the property tax averaging $633.

Those buying a condo apartment for $377,743 would need a household income of $70,203, with the average monthly mortgage payment pegged at $1,352. The monthly property tax would cost $227, and the condo fees would run at $430.


Below is a map that looks at the financial breakdown by city in the GTA, or click here for mobile-friendly link. Courtesy: TheRedPoint.com.


In the densely-populated region of Toronto central, homebuyers would need a household income of $131,017 to purchase a home valued at $778,210, and homeowners would require a $2,785 mortgage payment. With a modest 0.71 per cent property tax calculation, the monthly tax would be $460.

However, with a 3.2 per cent property tax hike in store for Torontonians, that monthly tax calculation will be much higher. Earlier this year, council approved a 2.75 per cent property tax hike, but the 0.5 per cent was previously rubberstamped to pay for the Scarborough subway.

The home prices in TheRedPin.com’s analysis differ from the numbers provided by the Toronto Real Estate Board for July of this year.

According to the real estate board, the average price for a home in Toronto in July was $618,202, while the price was $604,631 in the 905 area.

In the GTA, the average price for a detached home was $787,607, which was up 13.2 per cent year-over-year. For a detached home, the price was $570,480, while a townhouse cost $469,733. The price for a condo was $372,363 – up 4.1 per cent year-over-year.

Click here to read the full Toronto Real Estate Board report.

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