Edmonton is the top-ranking relocation destination among residents in the Greater Toronto Area and Greater Vancouver. A survey from Royal LePage found 19 per cent of respondents from each area shared this sentiment. Quebec City is the most popular choice among respondents from the Greater Montreal Area (29 per cent), followed by Sherbrooke and Trois-Rivières.
The survey of 900 Canadians was conducted by Hill & Knowlton in mid-May 2024. Half of the respondents (the majority being renters) said they would consider buying a property in one of Canada’s most affordable cities. Besides the prospect of an affordable home, the lower cost of living is the largest factor at play. Others desire nature, situated among fewer people and living at a more relaxed pace.
“There’s an old saying in real estate, ‘drive until you qualify,’ said COO Karen Yolevski, “As housing affordability continues to deteriorate and Canadians face increasingly higher barriers to entry when buying a home, this adage is becoming more of a reality. Many aspiring homeowners in the country’s largest and priciest urban centres are seriously considering relocating to less expensive cities in order to get a foot on the property ladder.”
Out of the 15 most affordable cities in Canada, Thunder Bay tops that list where 22.2 per cent of a household’s monthly income would be required to service a mortgage payment. Saint John, Red Deer, Trois-Rivières and Edmonton round out the top five, where between 25.1 and 28.9 per cent of a household’s monthly income is needed to service a mortgage payment.
“Since the pandemic, the share of buyers from outside Trois-Rivières, particularly from the Montreal region, remains important,” said Martin Leblanc, broker with Royal LePage Centre. “Demand extends to different property types, but is more pronounced in the condominium segment, which mainly attracts first-time buyers and retirees.:
In Ontario, the only other city to make the list was Windsor – Essex, which ranked thirteen and where the average home price is $491,100.
Cities in Manitoba and Saskatchewan were also on the most affordable list. “Homebuyers from other regions are often surprised with how far their dollars can stretch in the Saskatoon housing market,” said Lorri Walters, sales representative at Royal LePage Saskatoon Real Estate. “For under $500,000, you can easily find a detached home, or you can buy a condominium for less than half of that.
“Meanwhile, new developments for single-family, condo and rental housing continue to pop up across the city, meaning a steady supply of new accommodations are being built.”
Respondents from the GTA also showed interest in moving to St. John’s Newfoundland and Labrador, which ranked seventh among the most affordable cities in Canada. St. John’s is one of four cities in the Atlantic provinces to make that list.
“Relative to home prices across the country, St. John’s is expected to continue to be affordable for the long-term,” said Jerry Boyles, sales representative, Royal LePage Property Consultants. “However, labour shortages, zoning restrictions and a general resistance to densification will challenge the creation of new homes needed to meet demand in the future, forcing prices upward.”
Royal LePage’s Affordability Factor is based on the percentage of income required to service a monthly mortgage payment, using Statistics Canada 2022 provincial median total income of economic families and persons not in an economic family, and city-level aggregate home price data from the Royal LePage Q1 2024 House Price Survey.
