Renting is now cheaper than buying in Vancouver, according to a recent report by the National Bank of Canada.

According to the report, housing affordability in Canada deteriorated for the 14th consecutive quarter at the end of 2018. With that, the worst deteriorations in affordability were in Vancouver, Victoria, and Toronto.

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According to the report, the city’s housing affordability “deteriorated for the condo sector in fourth quarter.”

The average price of a representative condo in the Vancouver market is $638,842 and the annual household income needed to afford a condo at that price is $117,227. The report says that it would take a total of 61 months to save for the condo’s down payment (with a saving rate of 10%).

A Vancouverite is looking at an average monthly mortgage payment of $3,127 for a two-bedroom condo, compared to a monthly rental for a similar property costing $1,913.

The median detached home price remains over $1 million, averaging $1,318,768. With that, a monthly mortgage payment is about $6,456.

The National Bank report also showed that the time required to save for the down payment on a representative home at a savings rate of 10% will take 415 months in Vancouver.

Vancouver isn’t the only city in Canada suffering from rising real estate costs. Renting has become cheaper than buying throughout the country.

The same report outlined home prices around the world per square footage, and Vancouver ranked as the 10th most expensive.

Hong Kong came in first place globally, and in Canada, Vancouver placed first with an average of $770 (US) per square footage for a place downtown.

No wonder Vancouver is one of the most ‘severely unaffordable’ cities in the world.

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