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Here's how long it takes to save up for a down payment in Ottawa: Report

A new home is displayed for sale, in Ottawa on Tuesday, July 14, 2020. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick) A new home is displayed for sale, in Ottawa on Tuesday, July 14, 2020. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick)
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It would take five months for a single person earning the average income and living in Ottawa to save the down payment to buy a condominium in the capital, according to a report by ZOOCASA.

The report, released on Tuesday, notes that the average income after tax for a single person in Ottawa is around $50,480. It assumes buyers save 100 per cent of their income.

Based on the Government of Canada requirements, the minimum down payment is five per cent for homes priced at $500,000 or less. While the average price of a condo in the capital is around $418,000, the minimum down payment is $20,925, says ZOOCASA.

This puts Ottawa in the middle between the most affordable and the least affordable cities in Canada, according to the report.

Compared to the least affordable cities, it would take 12 months to save for a down payment in Vancouver and 10 months to save for a down payment in Toronto.

Meanwhile, compared to the most affordable cities, it takes 2.1 months to save for a condominiumin Edmonton, with a down payment of $9,005, reads the report.

Though high interest rates and the rising cost of living are making it difficult for everyone to make ends meet, the pinch might be even harder for single people depending on a single income. An Ottawa woman warns against locking yourself into a mortgage you can’t sustain when things go wrong.

Vanessa Hartmann told CTV News Ottawa she has had her life turned upside down and is now facing bankruptcy after purchasing a home two years ago in Jasper, Ont. along the Rideau River only to lose her good paying job after seven months. At the time, the property was listed for $465,000, but Hartmann says she paid $200,000 over the asking price.

"I want people to know that this is a possibility for anybody, you know, an educated hardworking woman like myself is now faced with homelessness," said Hartmann.

With files from CTV News Ottawa’s Katelyn Wilson

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