While Torontonians are used to the housing boom, Halton region is now experiencing much of the same. The Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) found that there was an annual increase in average price in the Halton region – by a whopping 25 per cent margin.
Using data from 668 transactions this past November, Zoocasa found that the average price has risen 5.4 per cent to $845, 530.
So what happens to the median-income earner? Can she afford the average house? At close to $1,000,000, it really depends if buyers share an income or have two separate sources of cash flow. It’s certainly a challenge (if not impossible) to purchase a house in Toronto on a single income.
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Zoocasa crunched the numbers to reveal what a median-income buyer would qualify for in Halton’s major municipalities (Burlington, Oakville and Milton) and the spectrum of affordability seems to be broad – depending of course on your income and the type of housing you are in search of.
To calculate the saving timeline, Zoocasa assumed that buyers could put aside 20 per cent annually.
Of course every buyer’s situation is different, but Zoocasa assumed the borrower would qualify for a 3 per cent interest rate and a 25-year amortization. One per cent of the home's cost for property taxes, and a $100-heating bill, were also factored in. (Condo fees, loans, and other debt obligations were not factored into the calculation.)
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Take Burlington, for example, where buyers who earn the city’s median income of $93,588 will easily find a suitable condo. Given the fact that the median-priced unit is just $447,500, a person would have to save for approximately 1.6-years. Not bad. However, if a townhouse is what you want, the average costs bumps to $525,000 which shifts the saving timeframe to 5.6 years. For a semi-detached with an average price of $707,500, that grows even more to 16.6 years.
Meanwhile, Milton residents would have to save 31.9 years to purchase a detached home with an average cost of $959,000. That’s assuming a buyer's income falls into the slightly higher income average of $104,730. That translates into 1.6 years to save for a condo with an average price of $501,000.
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In Oakville, those earning the city’s median income of $113,666 will get the biggest bang for their buck in the multi-family sectors; with the median-priced condo unit costing $537,000, buyers could be moving in within a 1.4-year timeframe.
While Halton still provides support for low-income earners in the form of an Assisted Housing program , the prices for average homes creeps up in pace with Toronto’s market.
