Housing Affordability May Be Declining In Canada… But There Are Solutions Near Toronto

According to a recent RBC Economic Research report cited by BNNBloomberg:

“[A]ggregate affordability measure rose four percentage points on a quarterly basis to 48.4 per cent, signalling that more of homeowners’ household income would need to be devoted to the cost of ownership…”

Here are some potential ways that some aspiring homeowners can deal with this problem:

1. If you are able to work from home, consider moving out of the GTA. Within a two hour drive of Toronto are numerous quaint communities where a new home costs significantly less than in the GTA.
2. Don’t give up the hope of home ownership. It may be easy to think there is no point saving your money when housing prices are as high as they are. However the housing market, like any market is subject to cycles.  If you save money on that daily latte, some day may come when your income may also be higher and homes are more affordable.
3. Resist the temptation to Keep Up With The Joneses. You may have friends who appear to be living the high life with a home much larger than they really need. But they also may be living pay-cheque to pay-cheque to afford some luxuries they don’t really need. If you get in the habit of saving, you may view such items in terms of the time it takes you to save that much money, inspiring more saving.