Actual Costs of Buying a Home Across Canada

A friend of mine recently moved to a Vancouver suburb and I was shocked to hear how much it really costs to buy a home there. I think everyone has an idea how expensive homes are in and around Vancouver and Toronto right now, but many people aren't aware of the additional closing costs buyers face across the country. With so many people working remotely, we're starting to see people moving based on housing affordability, so I wanted to share what it actually costs to buy a typical single-family home in major Canadian cities, including the extra expenses buyers pay at closing that are not included in their mortgage. Since averages and medians can be misleading, I'm going to base these calculations on the MLS® Home Price Index. The HPI basically determines what the typical property will sell for in major markets across Canada. You can find more information about the HPI Index at https://www.crea.ca/housing-market-stats/mls-home-price-index/. As an example, the benchmark single-family home in Edmonton 1317 square foot 3-bedroom 2.5-bathroom home with a finished basement, and a double attached garage. I reached out to CREA to get benchmark descriptions for the other cities but they would not provide them. I am basing this analysis on the minimum possible down payments - a first-time buyer can put as little as 5% down on a property up to $500,000. If a first-time buyer is looking to buy a property over $500k, they have to put down 5% up to $500k, plus 10% on the balance. For example, on a $600,000 property, they would need 5% of $500k plus 10% of the remaining $100k, so $35,000. If the purchase price is over $1million dollars the mortgage cannot be insured so the buyers would have to have a 20% minimum down payment. Ranked from low to high, based on minimum closing costs, here is what you can expect to spend on a typical single-family home for a sampling of cities across Canada (not all cities are included in the HPI at this time) along with the cost of living for each city (from numbeo.com - the world's largest cost of living database), land transfer tax (from https://www.ratehub.ca/land-transfer-tax), and property taxes (from https://wowa.ca/calculators/property-tax). I have not included additional closing costs like lawyer's fees, appraisals, inspections, or mortgage insurance as they can vary depending on the situation. Just for fun, I'm including the cost of a bottle of J. Lohr Seven Oaks Cabernet Sauvignon, a litre of gas and a litre of milk (before tax, as of the time of publishing).

1. Greater Moncton, NB

The benchmark price for a single-family home in the Greater Moncton area was $254,000 in April 2021. New Brunswick has a 1% land transfer tax so a buyer would have an additional $2,450 expense at closing. The cost of living for a family of four, not including rent is $4,021/month plus 15% HST and the annual property taxes for a $254,000 home are approximately $7,043. Benchmark home price: $254,000 Minimum downpayment and fees: $15,150 Annual property tax: $7,043 Bottle of J. Lohr Cab Sav: $29.99 Litre of gas: $1.28 Litre of milk: $2.98

2. Saskatoon, SK

The benchmark price for a single-family home in Saskatoon was $350,600 and there is no land transfer tax but there is a land title transfer fee (0.3% of the purchase price) which would be approximately $1052. The monthly cost of living is estimated at $4,073 + 6% PST and 5% GST, annual property taxes would be $3,198. Benchmark home price: $350,600 Minimum downpayment and fees: $18,582 Annual property tax: $3,198 Bottle of J. Lohr Cab Sav: $30.49 Litre of gas: $1.26 Litre of milk: $2.29

3. Edmonton, AB

Edmonton's benchmark single-family home price is $396,800 and Alberta does not have a land transfer tax but does have a property registration fee and a mortgage registration fee that would work out to approximately $259. The monthly cost of living is estimated at $4,198 +5% GST, Alberta does not have a provincial sales tax. Benchmark home price: $396,800 Minimum downpayment and fees: $20,096 Annual property tax: $3,700 Bottle of J. Lohr Cab Sav: $22.99 Litre of gas: $1.25 Litre of milk: $2.20

4. Winnipeg, MB

A typical single-family home in Winnipeg was valued at $329,800 in April on which a buyer would pay $4,316 land transfer tax and $4,085 in annual property taxes. Monthly living costs are estimated at $4,041 plus 7% provincial sales tax and 5% GST. Benchmark home price: $329,800 Minimum downpayment and fees: $20,806 Annual property tax: $4,085 Bottle of J. Lohr Cab Sav: $26.99 Litre of gas: $1.28 Litre of milk: $1.85

5. Calgary, AB

The benchmark price for a single-family home in Calgary was $506,600 in April 2021. As I've already mentioned, Alberta has no land transfer tax but has a very low registration fee, which would be approximately $299 for a first-time buyer putting down 5%. The monthly cost of living is estimated at $4,219. Again, Alberta has no provincial sales tax but does have 5% GST. Annual property taxes for the benchmark home are approximately $3,811. Benchmark home price: $506,600 Minimum downpayment and fees: $25,629 Annual property tax: $3,811 Bottle of J. Lohr Cab Sav: $22.99 Litre of gas: $1.25 Litre of milk: $2.15

6. Montreal, QC

A typical single-family home in Montreal was valued at $552,700 in April on which a buyer would pay $7,054 municipal land transfer tax and $4,713 in annual property taxes. Monthly living costs are estimated at $3,973 plus 9.975% PST (nice job keeping that under 10%????) and 5% GST. Benchmark home price: $552,700 Minimum downpayment and fees: $37,324 Annual property tax: $4,713 Bottle of J. Lohr Cab Sav: $24.00 Litre of gas: $1.30 Litre of milk: $2.57

7. Ottawa, ON

The benchmark price for a single-family home in Ottawa was $710,400 and there is a provincial land transfer tax that would be approximately $10,683. The monthly cost of living is estimated at $4,262, annual property taxes would be $7,167 and Ontario has 11% HST. Benchmark home price: $710,400 Minimum downpayment and fees: $56,723 Annual property tax: $7,167 Bottle of J. Lohr Cab Sav: $23.95 Litre of gas: $1.29 Litre of milk: $2.64

8. Hamilton-Burlington, ON

The benchmark single-family home price in the Hamilton-Burlington area is $930,700 and the provincial land transfer tax would be approximately $15,089. The monthly cost of living is estimated at $3,841 +11% HST and the annual property taxes would be approximately $7,079 in Burlington and $11,066 in Hamilton. Benchmark home price: $930,700 Minimum downpayment and fees: $83,159 Annual property tax: $7,079-$11,066 Bottle of J. Lohr Cab Sav: $23.95 Litre of gas: $1.29 Litre of milk: $2.27

9. Greater Toronto Area, ON

A typical single-family home in the GTA was valued at $1,194,400 in April. The provincial land transfer tax would be $20,363 and in Toronto, there is an additional municipal land transfer tax of $20,363 which is rebated for a first-time buyer. It gets a little confusing here though because a first-time buyer can normally put down only 5%, but if the property is over $1million they would have to put down 20%. If the property is located outside of Toronto, there is no municipal land transfer tax. The GTA includes a number of cities so as examples the annual property taxes in Toronto would be $7,163, in Mississauga they would be $9,388 and in Richmond Hill they would be $7,801. Monthly living costs are estimated at $4,041 plus 11% GST. Benchmark home price: $1,194,400 Minimum downpayment and fees: $259,243 - $279,606 Annual property tax: ~$7,163-$9,388 Bottle of J. Lohr Cab Sav: $23.95 Litre of gas: $1.29 Litre of milk: $3.03

10. Greater Vancouver Area, BC

The benchmark single-family home price in the Greater Vancouver area is $1,763,600, and there would be a $33,272 provincial land transfer tax. BC offers a partial rebate on the land transfer tax for first-time buyers, but only if the property is under $500,000. There are additional taxes if you are not a Canadian citizen and/or the property is vacant. The monthly cost of living is estimated at $4,209 plus 7% provincial sales tax and 5% GST. Benchmark home price: $1,763,600 Minimum downpayment and fees: $385,992 Annual property tax: $5,160 Bottle of J. Lohr Cab Sav: $24.99 Litre of gas: $1.47 Litre of milk: $2.98 There are a lot of things to consider when relocating, and it can be hard to compare the actual costs between different cities. It's not surprising that we're starting to see people move to Edmonton because the cost of living here is lower than most other places in Canada, and Edmonton has a lot to offer. Having worked with many high-profile relocations, my partner Sheldon has said it's sometimes difficult to encourage professionals to relocate to Edmonton because quite frankly, we don't have the best reputation. Many of those same clients came to love the city and chose to make Edmonton their permanent home. Organizations like "Edmonton Global" are doing a great job of promoting Edmonton, check it out:

As someone who relocated to Edmonton from Toronto 15 years ago, I can attest to the fact that Edmonton is a great place to live. And, if the price of a bottle of wine is important to you then obviously Edmonton is the place to be ????. Seriously though, with our cost of living so much less than other places, our family is able to enjoy a lot more travel and other fun things than we would if we lived in Ontario or BC. Posted by Liv Real Estate on May 31st, 2021