New data showed a split housing reality across Canada's biggest cities
For the first time since Canada’s pandemic housing peak, some of the country’s priciest markets appear to offer a measure of relief for would-be buyers – even as affordability erodes in others.
A new joint report from real estate platform Wahi and digital mortgage provider Perch tracked mortgage payments, qualifying incomes and local earnings across 13 major metropolitan areas between 2022 and 2025.
The study found that Toronto and Hamilton were the only cities where both monthly mortgage payments and minimum qualifying incomes on a standard 25-year insured mortgage dropped more than 10% between May 2022 and September 2025.
“Affording a home, especially in the city, can be a challenge, but we know from a previous Wahi survey that many Canadians are willing to do whatever it takes to step on the property ladder,” Wahi economist Ryan McLaughlin said.
“This study puts into perspective what homebuyers can expect and, in some cases, demonstrates how conditions may be more favourable today,” he continued.
Perch principal mortgage broker Alex Leduc said first-time buyers in the Greater Toronto Area had been able to take advantage of that shift.
“They’re able to add the conditions they want to their offer, negotiate on price and arrange for a closing date that is on their timeline (not the seller’s),” Leduc said.
McLaughlin added that “sharp home price declines are the primary driver of reduced ownership costs in Toronto and Hamilton.”
Longer amortizations reshape, but don’t solve, affordability
The report also examined the impact of new 30-year insured amortizations, introduced federally in 2024 for first-time buyers and purchasers of newly built homes.
Nationally, stretching payments over 30 years reduced typical monthly mortgage costs by about 11% ($3,476) and the income needed to qualify by 3% ($160,000) compared with 2022.
In Toronto and Hamilton, the combination of lower prices and longer terms cut both qualifying incomes and payments and by roughly 20–25% ($3,849-$4,818). This is the steepest improvement among the 13 markets.
Qualifying incomes fell from $260,000 to $210,000 in Toronto and from $215,000 to $170,000 in Hamilton over the study period.
Still, industry voices cautioned that extended terms alone would not transform affordability. In a separate interview, RATESDOTCA’s Victor Tran previously said the new insured 30-year option was only expected to lift borrowing power by “roughly a 3% to 5% increase … really not that much at the end of the day.”
Gains in some cities, renewed strain in others
When local income growth was factored in, affordability improved nationally and in seven markets – including Halifax, Hamilton, Ottawa, Regina, Toronto, Vancouver and Victoria – as median household incomes moved closer to the levels needed to qualify.
Yet the national median remained only about two-thirds of the qualifying income required, underscoring that ownership still sits out of reach for many households.
In Quebec City and Calgary, rapid price growth pushed typical households below the threshold to buy.
At the same time, prairie markets such as Edmonton, Saskatoon, Regina and Winnipeg retained a relative edge, supported by lower home prices, strong labour markets and population growth.
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