National Bank released its quarterly Housing Affordability Monitor for Canada in May. The data, which focuses on the first quarter of 2022, shows a particularly significant deterioration in housing affordability across the country. Here are the highlights:
Housing affordability experienced its fifth consecutive quarter of deterioration in the first quarter of 2022. The mortgage payment on a median property proportional to income (MPPI) increased by 4.9 percentage points during the period across Canada, its largest increase in 27 years. The MPPI indicator provides a snapshot of the importance of mortgage payments on household finances.
ll ten Canadian metropolitan markets analyzed were affected by deteriorating affordability. The Ottawa-Gatineau, Montreal, and Quebec City markets, however, were relatively less affected than the other Canadian metropolitan areas, with MPPI changes of 3.1, 2.7, and 1.6, respectively.
Condominiums were comparatively less affected by this deterioration in affordability, with a gain of 2.7 percentage points versus 6.3 for the other residential segments.
The statistics detailed in the report show that only the Quebec City and Winnipeg metropolitan areas currently have prices that allow the local median wage earner to purchase a median home while spending no more than 32 per cent of pre-tax income on it.
