Here's how much you need to earn to buy a home in Ottawa this spring

A new home is displayed for sale in a housing development in Ottawa on Tuesday, July 14, 2020. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick)

Ottawa residents need to earn $132,000 a year to buy a home this spring, as the average cost of a home increases in the capital.

A new report from Ratehub.ca, an online mortgage brokerage service, shows the average income required to buy a home in the capital in May was $132,060, up from $131,000 in April. In May 2023, the average income required to buy a home was $130,000.

The income required to purchase a new home increased as home prices jumped in Ottawa this spring. Ratehub.ca says the average home price in Ottawa increased from $644,800 in April to $651,300 in May.

Ratehub.ca looks at the income required to purchase a new home in May with a mortgage rate of 5.49 per cent and a stress test rate of 7.49 per cent.  The income is based on a mortgage with a 20 per cent downpayment and a 25-year amortization.

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The income required to purchase a new home increased in 11 of the 13 Canadian markets surveyed in May. Ottawa had the third-highest increase in annual income required to buy a home.

“Month-over-month we saw affordability worsen in 11 out of 13 cities studied, and improve in two cities," Penelope Graham, mortgage expert at Ratehub.ca, said in a statement.
"While interest rates remained relatively flat month-over-month, the increase in home values was enough such that affordability worsened in those 11 cities. And on the flip side, the decrease in home values was enough to improve home affordability in those two cities."

Hamilton saw the highest increase in income required to purchase a home at $1,550.  Home buyers need an average income of $171,100 to purchase a home in Hamilton.

The average income to buy a new home in Toronto decreased $1,250 to $215,920, as the average price of a new home dropped by $5,900.

"While still among one of Canada’s most expensive markets, the supply and demand imbalance seen during the spring market has pulled prices slightly lower," Graham said.

Halifax saw the average income required to buy a home decrease $2,070 to $111,980, as home prices fell by an average of $11,000.

The average income required to buy a new home in Canada ranges from $69,660 in Fredericton to $232,950 in Vancouver.

In Montreal, the average income required to purchase a new home was $111,010 in May.