While people from all over the country have been flocking to Calgary in recent years, promising a better quality of life and more affordable real estate, a new report might challenge those assumptions.
The Canadian real estate company Royal LePage released its inaugural 2024 Most Affordable Cities Report on Wednesday. Only two Alberta cities made it into the top 15 in the country, and Calgary didn’t make the cut.
Royal LePage
Red Deer and Edmonton both made the top five list of the most affordable cities in Canada, with Red Deer coming in third and Edmonton not far behind at number five.
Both cities saw aggregate home prices lower than other cities on the list at $392,900 and $442,200, respectively. Not only that, median total household incomes in both cities were also much higher than other provinces at $95,900.
Royal LePage
Calgary came in at number 21, behind another Alberta city, Fort McMurray, which came in at number 17. The aggregate home price in Calgary is currently $676,400, which comes out to an average monthly mortgage payment of $3,521.15, according to the calculations in the report.
The cities were ranked based on the “percentage of income required to service a monthly mortgage payment, using provincial median total household income data and city-level aggregate home price data. The mortgage calculation is based on a three-year fixed-term loan at 5.71%, amortized over 25 years with a 20% down payment,” according to the report.
This data might not come as a surprise to many Calgarians who are already used to skyrocketing real estate prices and plunging quality-of-life ratings.