Update: This article has been updated with the most recent available data. The 2022 version of the analysis can be found below the current study.
- 24 of Canada’s 50 largest cities have benchmark home prices higher than $1 million. That’s fewer than last year, when a total of 30 large cities displayed these intimidating price tags.
- But, although prices went through a period of correction, homes under $200,000 are still few and far between: 35 cities have zero homes for sale below this price point.
- The remaining 15 cities have some listings on the market for less than $200,000, but they represent less than 1% of all the homes available for sale.
- Only Waterloo and Kawartha Lakes, ON stand out, with shares of homes under $200,000 of 3.13% and 2.62%, respectively.
- Zooming in to region and province level, it’s the cities in Atlantic Canada and The Prairies that have the highest shares of homes under $200,000: At almost 45%, Cape Breton, NS leads the way with the highest share of affordable homes for sale, followed by Saint John, NB; Regina, SK; Winnipeg, MB; Edmonton, AB; Saskatoon, SK; Lethbridge, AB; Red Deer, AB; and St. John’s, NL, all displaying shares of affordable homes higher than 10%.
After reaching a high of $861,000 in March 2022, home prices started decelerating at first and then continued correcting until the beginning of 2023. But now, thanks in large part to seasonality and to buyers gaining a bit of courage, the numbers are climbing again.
What this means is that the short respite buyers were starting to catch onto might be over before they even get to make a move. It also means that finding something within budget is slowly becoming almost impossible again.
And if affordable is synonymous with almost impossible, cheap is becoming downright mythical: Homes under $200,000 in the country’s largest, most desirable cities are fewer by the day.
National Outlook: Cheap Homes in Big Cities Are Virtually Nonexistent
Looking at this year’s numbers, it might seem that things are looking up for first-time buyers: Compared to 2022, when only 12 large cities had homes for sale for less than $200,000, a total of 15 cities have homes for sale under this price point in 2023.
However, after a closer look, almost all aspiring homebuyers are bound to be disappointed. The actual shares of affordable homes for sale are dismal: With the exception of Waterloo and Kawartha Lakes, the percentage of homes under $200,000 oscillates between a discouraging 0% and 1%.
The largest and most expensive cities in Canada are, naturally, the most desirable ones. This means prices here are pushed into the stratosphere by sustained demand, leaving renters and first-time buyers with very few options.
And, just like last year, these red-hot housing markets have very little space left for affordable options, no matter how high or low they may be on the unaffordability scale: Listings below $200K are nonexistent in Peterborough, ON; Welland, ON; and Brantford, ON — which have some of the lowest benchmark prices among the 50 largest cities — but they also amount to 0% in cities like Richmond Hill, ON; Oakville, ON; Aurora, ON; and Markham, ON, where the median price is almost double the national average.
Regional Outlook: Aspiring Homebuyers Looking for Homes Under $200K Have the Best Chances in Atlantic Canada & The Prairies
Almost half of all the the homes currently on the market in Cape Breton, NS are less than $200,000
Canada's 50 largest cities may have very low shares of homes under $200,000, but the most populous cities by province and region are doing much better. Atlantic Canada takes the lead, with Cape Breton, NS and Saint John, NB boasting the highest shares of homes that cost less than $200,000.
What's more, these two urban hubs also have the lowest benchmark prices of all the cities on this list, both of them well below $300,000. It's no wonder, then, that they also have a much higher share of homes that cost less than $200,000.
Some of the largest cities from The Prairies are not far behind: Regina, SK; Winnipeg, MB; and Edmonton, AB follow suit, with shares of homes under $200K between 19% and almost 30%.
In Quebec's Largest Cities, the Shares of Homes Under $200K Are Similar to National Trends
Zooming in on Quebec, there is a clear difference compared to the previous two regions. In the whole province, only Quebec City has higher shares of homes under $200,000. Quebec City also has the lowest benchmark price of the largest cities in the province, so affordable homes are slightly more accessible to buyers here compared to other cities.
However, the same cannot be said about the other major cities in the area. Gatineau may be second, but it has a much lower share of homes for sale that cost less than $200,000. The other three large cities in the province only have shares of affordable homes between 0% and 1%.
The Very Few Homes Under $200K in Ontario Aren't Enough to Move the Needle
Of Ontario's five most populous cities, only Hamilton, Ottawa and Toronto have some homes for sale under $200,000. But if the shares of affordable homes look measly, the net numbers are downright disappointing: The three cities had seven, five and two homes for sale under $200,000 at the time the data was gathered.
In British Columbia's Largest Cities, Finding a Home Under $200K Is a Race Against the Clock
Seven of the 18 most expensive cities in British Columbia have zero homes currently on the market with asking prices lower than $200,000. The province's most populous cities are not much different.
Of the nearly 3,000 listings in Vancouver, exactly none cost less than $200K, and the same goes for Burnaby. In Surrey, homebuyers have more than 2,300 homes to choose from, but only two of them have asking prices below $200,000. But the ones who really need to hurry and make up their minds are buyers in Abbotsford and Richmond: Each of these two cities had only one home under $200,000 at the time the data was gathered.
For more on the shares of homes currently for sale for less than $200,000 in Canada’s most populous cities by region, check out the table below:
Methodology
- For the nationwide ranking, we looked at median home prices in the top 100 most populous cities in Canada to determine the 50 most expensive large cities in the country. We then analyzed the number of homes below $200,000 in each of them.
- At the regional level, we selected the top cities by population in single province regions, as well as in multiple province regions. The Prairies and Atlantic Canada group multiple provinces due to the low number of highly populated cities.
- We looked at the largest cities with the highest shares of listings below $200,000 in each region, namely: The Prairies, Atlantic Canada, British Columbia, Québec, and Ontario.
- To gauge the inventory of homes for sale for less than $200,000 in each city, we examined and counted listings from REALTOR.ca. The study was based on all active listings, as well as listings pending sale, priced up to and including $200,000 at the time of the analysis (the last week of May 2023).
- We used MLS Benchmark Composite Prices for the majority of the cities included in the analysis, with the exception of Montréal, Hamilton, Halifax, Laval, London, Gatineau, Longueuil, Red Deer, Lethbridge, Cape Breton, Belleville, where we considered Median or Average Sale Prices as per local MLS monthly reports, and Montréal, Laval, Longueuil, Kelowna, Kamloops, where we used a weighted average of the prices for each property type to determine the Composite Price. Where unavailable at city level, we looked at Local MLS Prices at regional level: Québec, Longueuil, Kelowna, Saanich, Brantford, Nanaimo, Victoria, Saint John, and Fredericton.
Yes, Canada Still Sells Homes for Less Than $200K — Just Not in Its Most Coveted Cities
In the backdrop of the country’s adverse housing market, a wider search beyond Canada’s largest and most expensive cities shows regional pockets of affordability.
Published: May 24, 2022
Housing affordability is a subjective matter, but it takes on a whole different meaning in Canada’s post-pandemic market: Following a 30% hike compared to early 2020, the national median price recently reached nearly twice the U.S. median. With home prices swelling to record numbers in the last two years, homebuyers found themselves readjusting their budgets.
Although not the lowest figure, $200,000 (about one-quarter of the average national home price) is a suitable reference point to gauge the share of what is now referred to as an “affordable listing.” The reality is that $200K isn’t enough to land a home in almost any of Canada’s most coveted cities. In fact, only about 10% of all homes for sale in Canada are less than $200K — and very few of them are in major cities, where median home prices are exploding.
What’s more, as urban hubs continue to deal with sky-high demand and similarly sky-high costs, data shows that housing options for less than $200,000 are incredibly scarce in the top 50 largest and most expensive cities: These needles in the haystack account for less than 1% of the entire stock for sale.
However, the chance of finding a home for sale for less than $200K increases when zooming in on the most populous cities within a region. Point2 discovered that homebuyers who are willing to expand their house-hunting grounds to the largest cities in The Prairies, Atlantic Canada or Québec can have their pick of broader concentrations of more affordable listings.
Here’s what caught our eye at the national and regional levels:
- 38 of Canada’s 50 largest, most expensive cities — which, incidentally, are all in Ontario and British Columbia — showcase zero listings for less than $200,000.
- Kawartha Lakes, ON is the only larger city where more than 1% of all homes for sale are less than $200K.
- Among the largest cities at the regional level, Cape Breton, NS, in Atlantic Canada boasts the highest share of homes for sale under $200K: 44%.
- Populous cities across The Prairies have the most homes for sale under 200K, particularly Edmonton, AB (1,300), and Regina, SK (400).
Ontario & BC: Your Only Shots for Homes Under $200K in the Big City
Beyond ever-evolving prices, the housing crisis has been blamed on various factors, from scarce affordable inventory to increased nationwide demand caused by immigration. And although legislative documents (like the recently proposed More Homes for Everyone Act) support speedy development, things are looking bleak for home buyers in Canada’s main hubs.
Settling in the largest, most desirable cities comes with an extreme price tag, so the chances of finding a starter home here are close to zero. Literally. Only 12 of the 50 most expensive large cities display homes for sale for less than $200,000 — all in Ontario and British Columbia. (Spoiler alert: None of them are Toronto or Vancouver). Even so, the percentages are a letdown for homebuyers on a budget.
Kawartha Lakes, ON, sets itself apart with almost 5% of for-sale stock priced at $200,000 or less (many of them vacation homes). Trailing way behind are cities like Kelowna (0.96%) or Surrey, BC (0.46%), where the odds of finding something more affordable become increasingly unfavorable.
Interestingly enough, listings below $200K are nonexistent in both Welland, ON — where the median price is the lowest among the 50 largest cities — and in Richmond Hill, ON, where the median price is almost double the national average.
Big Cities in Atlantic Canada & The Prairies Boast Highest Shares of Listings Under $200K
While the 50 largest cities in the nation don't offer a great deal of hope, things are looking up in the largest cities in each region. According to Statistics Canada, more people are leaving the country’s main hubs for less hyped-up areas — and understandably so: $200,000 might not get you much in the glitzy cities, but it can access a wider selection of more affordable homes at the regional level.
Regional affordability difference is reflected in the number of cities with listings under $200K in each analyzed region. Specifically, most of the larger cities in Atlantic Canada and The Prairies showed significant shares of less expensive homes for sale, as opposed to Ontario or BC.
Below, read more on the percentage of homes for sale for less than $200,000 in the most populous cities in five regions: The Prairies, Atlantic Canada, Québec, Ontario, and British Columbia.
The Prairies: 8 Cities with Considerable Shares of Listings Under $200K
On top of making various lists of affordable cities, the concentrations of homes priced below $200,000 range from 36.50% in Regina, SK, to almost 7% in Calgary, AB. Notably, although Edmonton falls somewhere in the middle with nearly 25% of all homes for sale coming in at $200K or less, the city actually claimed the highest number of such listings with almost 1,300. Other cities with significant shares of homes for sale for $200K or less are: Lethbridge, AB (26.10%), Saskatoon, SK (23.47%), Winnipeg, MB (23.45%), Red Deer, AB (22.80%), and Airdrie, AB (8.43%).
Atlantic Canada: Cape Breton Island Overflows with 44% of Listings Under $200K
With most of its large cities flaunting median prices well below the national average, Atlantic Canada doesn’t disappoint when it comes to more affordable homes. For example, of all the homes for sale in Cape Breton, NS, more than 44% is less than $200,000, followed by 26.7% in Saint John, NB, and 13.46% in St. John’s, NL. Coincidentally, Halifax, NS — the largest of the six — has the smallest share of homes for sale for less than $200K (1.63%), while also posting the highest median price among the region’s largest cities at nearly $598,000.
Québec: Shares of Affordable Dwellings Dwindle Following Québec City’s 9.8%; Montréal at 0.3%
Perhaps surprisingly, Québec City logs the most affordable median price in the region at a little more than $331,000. Furthermore, the share of listings priced below $200K here closes in on 10% — a percentage that translates into about 240 homes on the more affordable side. At the same time, gradually smaller shares around 1% to 2% are found in Longueuil, Gatineau, and Laval. As you might expect, Montréal boasts the highest number of overall homes for sale (about 4,900), although only 0.31% — 15 of them — are priced below $200,000.
British Columbia: Slim Pickings Below $200K as Region Posts $1M Median Home Price
As we enter the $1M median home price territory, it’s no wonder that affordability gets harder and harder to reach. In fact, the median home price is more than $1 million in the five largest cities in BC. Right off the bat, the highest concentration of homes less than $200K feels like a harsh reality check: just 0.46% in Surrey (most of them manufactured homes). Meanwhile, none of the 3,200 homes for sale in Vancouver go for less than $200,000, and the situation is similar in nearby Burnaby. And, although Abbotsford has the lowest median price among the region’s largest cities ($1,078,000) and 14 in 1,000 homes here are for sale, a measly 0.26% of its for-sale stock is priced at $200,000 or less.
Ontario: Hamilton & Ottawa the Only Large Cities with Listings Under $200K
Between British Columbia and Ontario, finding affordable options is almost impossible for homebuyers on a budget. There are simply no homes for sale for less than $200K in Toronto, nor in nearby Mississauga or Brampton. And, although there are such homes in Ottawa and Hamilton, the percentages are negligible at 0.24% and 0.14%, respectively.
For more on the shares of homes currently for sale for less than $200,000 in Canada’s most populous cities by region, check out the table below:
While $200,000 as the new affordability threshold might sound surreal to some, there are silver linings on the Canadian horizon. The need for housing caused the national vacancy rate to fall for the first time in 20 years. More importantly, prices began to slow in the spring, with optimistic forecasts of further drops by the end of the year. Here’s hoping.
Methodology
- For the nationwide ranking, we looked at median home prices in the top 100 most populous cities in Canada to determine the 50 most expensive large cities in the country. We then analyzed the number of homes below $200,000 in each of them.
- At the regional level, we selected the top cities by population in single province regions, as well as in multiple province regions. The Prairies and Atlantic Canada group multiple provinces due to the low number of highly populated cities.
- We looked at the largest cities with the highest shares of listings below $200,000 in each region, namely: The Prairies, Atlantic Canada, British Columbia, Québec, and Ontario.
- To gauge the inventory of homes for sale for less than $200,000 in each city, we examined and counted listings from REALTOR.ca. The study was based on all active listings, as well as listings pending sale, priced up to and including $200,000 at the time of the analysis (the first week of May 2022).
- We used MLS Benchmark Composite Prices for the majority of the cities included in the analysis, with the exception of Montréal, Hamilton, Halifax, Laval, London, Gatineau, Longueuil, Red Deer, Lethbridge, Cape Breton, Belleville, where we considered Median or Average Sale Prices as per local MLS monthly reports, and Montréal, Laval, Longueuil, Kelowna, Kamloops, where we used a weighted average of the prices for each property type to determine the Composite Price. Where unavailable at city level, we looked at Local MLS Prices at regional level: Québec, Longueuil, Kelowna, Saanich, Brantford, Nanaimo, Victoria, Saint John, and Fredericton.
Fair use and redistribution
We encourage and freely grant permission to reuse, host or repost this article. When doing so, we only ask that you kindly attribute the authors by linking to Point2Homes.com or this page, so that your readers can learn more about this project, the research behind it and its methodology.
