A study released yesterday suggests that Montreal's homes have become more affordable since last year at this time, as the city's median multiple has fallen from 5.1 to 4.7.That means that it would take 4.7 years of median income to pay off a median-priced home in Montreal.
It's a significantly better result than the last two years.
In 2013 our median multiple was 5.1, in 2012 it was 5.1, in 2010 it was 4.9, in 2009 it was 4.6 and in 2008 homes were a steal with a median multiple of 3.9.
This year's study found that in Montreal the median house price is $264,000 and the median household income is $56,300.
The best Canadian deals are Ottawa, Edmonton and Calgary, at 3.8, 3.9 and 4.3.
Vancouver, in comparison, comes in at a ridiculously expensive 10.3.
The best deals in North America are found Pittsburgh, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Rochester, Atlanta, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Columbus, Louisville and Memphis, all of which which are rated at three or lower, which means that chances are you'll pay off your average house very fast if you find an average job.
I interviewed one of the main guys behind the study last year or so and he argued that strict policies against expanding onto agricultural lands around the city are keeping home prices high. In other words, he said that urban sprawl could alleviate a lot of pressure on home prices.
The study notes:
"Montreal has adopted urban containment policy that may be as strict as those in Vancouver and Toronto. Similar policies have also been adopted in Calgary. Montreal and Calgary have also experienced substantial increases in house prices relative to incomes.
Without reform, Median Multiples in Toronto, Montreal, and Calgary could trend a housing affordability
crisis approaching that of Vancouver, the second most unaffordable metropolitan area (after Hong Kong) in
this year’s Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey. Meanwhile, with virtually no political prospect of land use liberalization in Vancouver, housing affordability could deteriorate even further there.