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Working remotely from a home in a city that’s cheaper to live in than Toronto and its surrounding communities has a lot of appeal for many GTA residents, according to a survey.
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A Royal LePage survey found 51% of GTA respondents said if they could work remotely, they’d consider buying property in one of the 15 cities identified by the real estate company’s 2024 Most Affordable Canadian Cities Report.
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The top choices for GTA respondents were Edmonton (19%), followed by Thunder Bay, Ont., (15%) and St. John’s, Nfld. (14%).
Respondents were able to select more than one answer.
According to the Royal LePage’s report, Thunder Bay ranks first among the most affordable cities in the country.
The only other Ontario city in the report is Windsor-Essex, which ranks 13th.
Royal LePage identified the 15 most affordable cities, based on the percentage of income required to cover a monthly mortgage payment. Mortgage calculations were based on a three-year fixed-term loan at 5.71%, amortized over 25 years, with a 20% down payment.
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Thunder Bay sees 22.2% of a household’s monthly income required to service a mortgage.
Saint John, N.B., Red Deer, Alta., Trois-Rivières Que., and Edmonton round out the top five, where between 25.1 and 28.9% of a household’s monthly income is needed to make a mortgage payment.
Windsor-Essex would see 36.4% of a household’s monthly income required to take care of a mortgage payment.
“There’s an old saying in real estate, ‘drive until you qualify,’” said Karen Yolevski, COO of Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd., in a statement.
“As housing affordability continues to deteriorate and Canadians face increasingly higher barriers to entry when buying a home, this adage is becoming more of a reality. Many aspiring homeowners in the country’s largest and priciest urban centres are seriously considering relocating to less expensive cities in order to get a foot on the property ladder.”
Of the 15 most affordable cities in Canada, four are located in Quebec and four in the Atlantic provinces, with no B.C. cities making the list.
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