Ontarians hoping to buy a home in the province may have to travel quite a bit outside the Greater Toronto Area.
Zolo, an independent real estate marketplace, released its list of the best cities to buy a home in Ontario last month, looking at prices, unemployment rates and population growth, reports website cp24.com.
Three of the major cities on Zolo's list are in the Ottawa area.
The most affordable was Nepean, a municipality west of the capital. The median home price here is about $701,987, and the median household income is about $137,000.
Ottawa was the second largest city in terms of housing affordability, followed by Kanata.
No other big city made the top ten list of most affordable cities. Only one medium-sized city, with a population between 30,000 and 100,000 people, made the top ten list.
The median home price in LaSalle, located near Windsor, is about $259,000. Zolo notes that the median income in the area is about $144,600.
Three small towns on the list are Wasaga Beach, Casselman and Mount Forest.
The median home price in Wasaga Beach is $325,189. With a median income of $91,900, Zolo predicts that homeowners will be able to pay back their purchase in just over 3.5 years. This calculation likely does not include other finance costs for the buyer.
Of the 181 cities analyzed by Zolo, Toronto ranked 161st for housing affordability. The average price of a home here is $1,067,275. With an average household income of $127,900, it would take a buyer more than 8 years to pay off their home.
Housing costs in the GTA:
- Brampton is ranked 152nd with a median home price of $1,038,271.
- Mississauga is ranked 156th with a median home price of $1,036,304.
- Scarborough - 150th with a median home price of $650,000
- Markham is ranked 173rd with a median home price of $1,234,021.
- Newmarket - 164th with median house price of $1,147,513
- Etobicoke is ranked 177th with a median home price of $1,701,000
- Hamilton is ranked 77th with a median home price of $830,477.
Top 10 Cities with the Most Affordable Housing in Ontario
- Wasaga Beach
- Nepean
- Casselman
- Ottawa
- Mount Forest
- Kincardine
- Nipian
- Lasalle
- Ingersoll
- Capreol