Why a $115,000 Salary May Not Be Enough to Buy a Home in Canada

A CBC report examines why a salary of about $115,000 is no longer enough to buy a home in many parts of Canada, especially in the Greater Toronto Area and Greater Vancouver. Mortgage broker Ron Butler said that years ago, a typical middleincome worker could still save for a down payment, but that is much harder today because home prices have risen faster than wages. Using March 2026 housing data from the Canadian Real Estate Association, the report shows that the average home price in Canada was $673,084, while prices in Toronto and Vancouver were far higher. CBC calculated that buyers in several cities would need incomes well above $120,000 to afford a home with a modest down payment and basic carrying costs. Housing researcher Mike Moffatt said the affordability problem has spread beyond Toronto and Vancouver to other cities and regions across the country. He noted that in some places, familysized starter homes now cost more than twice as much relative to income as they did two decades ago, and that wage growth has not kept pace with housing costs. The article also points to a growing divide between those who can buy with help from family wealth and those who cannot. It says the supply of affordable homes remains limited in many markets, and that rising wages alone would not solve the problem unless more homes are built as well.