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Canada's Top Cities to Buy Real Estate In

homelifegalaxyreal
Mar 17, 2016
2 min read

Out of 35 cities in Canada, Thunder Bay came out as the top city to buy real estate in. During the past five years, the prices of homes in this Northern Ontario city have increased faster than in any other city in Canada.

The city with a population of just over 100,000 is home to the country's train and truck routes, Canada's Gateway to the West has been methodically rebuilding itself as a knowledge economy centre, attracting jobs in the educational, medical and governmental sectors. The largest employers of Thunder Bay are Regional Health Sciences Centre, Lakehead District School Board and Lakehead University, City of Thunder Bay and the Government of Ontario.

Home prices remain very affordable and the average household income comes in at $81,000. Last year, the average price of a home was just under $216,000, just a little over two and a half times the average household income.

In Vancouver, the average price of a home was nine times the average household income. In Toronto, the average price of a home was six times the average household income.

Here is a list of the top 10 cities to buy real estate in:

1) Thunder Bay, ON

Average Home Price (2015): $215,922 Average Income to Home Price: 2.7 5 Year Price Appreciation: 8.4% Average 5 Year Rent Increase: 22.5%

2) Hamilton, ON

Average Home Price (2015): $442,493 Average Income to Home Price: 4.9 5 Year Price Appreciation: 7.3% Average 5 Year Rent Increase: 18.1%

3) Brantford, ON

Average Home Price (2015): $293,059 Average Income to Home Price: 3.7 5 Year Price Appreciation: 5.0% Average 5 Year Rent Increase: 13.0%

4) Guelph, ON

Average Home Price (2015): $378,573 Average Income to Home Price: 4.0 5 Year Price Appreciation: 5.1% Average 5 Year Rent Increase: 14.1%

Something interesting about the top cities is that all four are in Ontario. Ontario was hit hard in the last five years by decreasing oil prices, a lower loonie and a shrinking manufacturing sector.

5) Vancouver, BC

Average Home Price (2015): $902,801 Average Income to Home Price: 9.8 5 Year Price Appreciation: 6.0% Average 5 Year Rent Increase: 14.9%

6) Regina, SK

Average Home Price (2015): $310,609 Average Income to Home Price: 3.1 5 Year Price Appreciation: 3.8% Average 5 Year Rent Increase: 24.5 %

7) Winnipeg, Manitoba

Average Home Price (2015): $278,270 Average Income to Home Price: 3.3 5 Year Price Appreciation: 4.0% Average 5 Year Rent Increase: 26.3%

8) Barrie, ON

Average Home Price (2015): $373,203 Average Income to Home Price: 4.1 5 Year Price Appreciation: 5.8% Average 5 Year Rent Increase: 20.0 %

9) Durham/Oshawa, ON

Average Home Price (2015): $439,842 Average Income to Home Price: 4.3 5 Year Price Appreciation: 8.0% Average 5 Year Rent Increase: 14.6 %

10) Edmonton, AB

Average Home Price (2015): $369,536 Average Income to Home Price: 3.3 5 Year Price Appreciation: 2.4% Average 5 Year Rent Increase: 23.2 %