Quote:
Originally Posted by boogerz
The median gross household income in Calgary is definitely not $140,000 per year or $100k after tax. I don't know that Calgary was even hitting that high of a median household income just before the 2014/15 crash either. A household income that high means at least one person in the household is a 1%er or both parents have above average jobs.
Calgary Economic Development's published marketing material ( here) shows median household income at around $100k ($75k after-tax) with only about ~9% of total households earning an after-tax household income greater than $140k ($100k after tax).
If we're assuming average household income at $75k after-tax and a median detached house price of $525k (per the latest CREB stats), the $2100/month mortgage payment (10% down) is about a third of the median family's monthly take-home income. That increases to half of a median family's take-home income by the time you add in the other costs of home ownership (e.g. insurance, utilities, maintenance, etc.).
We're not in bubble territory yet, but Calgary's house affordability is already at the limits of what an average family can afford. |
There's no way the average home purchaser makes $50k/year before tax. That's $25/hr. Your figures likely include a lot of single income households, entry level workers, and underemployed people who are not in the market for detached homes. They also likely don't include the significant amount of people doing, at least some, work that is not reported on tax returns. Independent contractors and the self-employed also tend to get creative with their tax returns, in terms of both income and write offs.
$2,100 is only $1,050 per income earner, in a two income household. That seems pretty attainable for most workers. If you can't afford to spend that on housing, you probably should not be looking on taking a commitment like a mortgage on in the first place.