CA Canada · Housing affordability

How much house can I afford in Canada?

A household in Canada earning CADa year, with CADin savings available, can afford ...
Maximum purchase price . OSFI B-20 stress test
CAD 708k
Bound by your income (GDS 35% rule) · CAD 566k mortgage on CAD 142k down
The two rules

Canada has two rules. Both must be met.

Every federally regulated lender in Canada must apply the OSFI B-20 stress test since 2018. The GDS ratio is the binding constraint — but without 20% down, you also face CMHC insurance premiums.

6.5%
B-20 stress test
You must qualify at the higher of your contract rate + 2% or 5.25%. At today's 4.5% rate, that means qualifying at 6.5%. Your housing costs at this rate — mortgage payment, property tax, heating — cannot exceed 35% of gross income (GDS).
housing costs at max(rate+2%, 5.25%) <= income x 0.35
20%
Down payment (uninsured)
For uninsured mortgages (no CMHC premium), a minimum 20% down payment is required. Below 20%, you must pay mortgage insurance (2.8-4.0% of the loan) and the purchase price is capped at CAD 1.5M.
down payment >= 0.20 x price
Have a place in mind?

Drop in a price and see where it fails.

Each test is independent: you need to clear both. The stress test limits your borrowing capacity at the qualifying rate; the down payment rule ensures you have 20% equity.

CAD
CAD 100kCAD 5M
1 of 2 tests fail.
✕GDS 35% stress testshort CAD 49k
You have CAD 180k/yrNeed CAD 229k/yr
✓20% down paymentpass
You have CAD 200kNeed CAD 180k
The lever you can actually pull

Two ceilings. Whichever is lower wins.

With your savings fixed, the price you can afford scales linearly with income — until the down payment rule starts to bind. Above the kink, more salary will not buy you a bigger place; more savings will.

00.8M1.5M2.3M3.0M100k200k300k400k500k600kgross household income (CAD / year)20% down . CAD 1MIncome limit . GDS 35%You · CAD 708k
What you can affordIncome limit (5.6× gross)Total down (5× cash + pension)
Your monthly budget

What you would actually pay each month.

Canada uses a stress test — you qualify at 6.5% but your actual payments are based on the contract rate of 4.5%. The gap between qualifying payment and real payment is your built-in safety margin.

Qualifying payment (6.5%)5,250 / monthActual payment (4.5%)4,218 / month
Monthly headroom
1,032
The stress test charges you 1.2× what you will actually pay. That spread is what you have, in theory, to absorb a rate cycle, or invest, if you would rather.
Where this lands you

Median home price, by city.

Your purchase-price ceiling (drawn in cyan) cuts across the median home price in Canada's largest cities. Cities above the line are out of reach without more income or more savings.

Vancouver
CAD 1.15M
Toronto
CAD 880k
Victoria
CAD 850k
Hamilton
CAD 750k
Ottawa
CAD 650k
Calgary
CAD 580k
Montreal
CAD 540k
Halifax
CAD 650k
Edmonton
CAD 420k
Winnipeg
CAD 370k
Within reachOut of reachYour ceiling · CAD 708k
Before you sign

This is probably the largest financial commitment of your life.

A home purchase is not just the price tag. There are significant costs on top that are not included in the affordability test above.

1-4%
Land transfer tax
Land transfer tax varies by province: Ontario charges 0.5-2.5% (doubled in Toronto with the municipal LTT), BC charges 1-3%, Quebec 0.5-1.5%. Alberta and Saskatchewan have no LTT. First-time buyers get partial rebates in some provinces.
~1%
Property tax (annual)
Annual property tax averages about 1% of assessed value but varies widely by municipality. Vancouver ~0.25%, Toronto ~0.6%, Montreal ~0.8%, Winnipeg ~1.3%. Assessed value may differ from market price.
?
Renting might still win
In Vancouver and Toronto, the rent-vs-buy math often favors renting and investing the difference, especially if you plan to stay less than 7-10 years. The stress test already builds in a safety margin — use it.

None of this means you should not buy. It means you should go in with open eyes. The affordability test tells you what you can do. Whether you should depends on how long you plan to stay, your alternative investments, and the local market dynamics.

For scale

What else costs about CAD 708k?

  • A modest cottage on a lake in Muskoka · CAD 650k1.09×
  • A 3-bedroom condo in downtown Montreal · CAD 540k1.31×
  • CAD 1,000/month invested at 6% real for 20 years (final portfolio value) · CAD 480k1.47×
  • A detached bungalow in Edmonton with a double garage · CAD 420k1.69×
  • A ski chalet in Mont-Tremblant · CAD 750k0.94×
  • A 30-foot cabin cruiser with 10 years of marina fees on Georgian Bay · CAD 350k2.02×
  • A detached house in suburban Ottawa · CAD 650k1.09×
  • A townhouse in Calgary's inner city · CAD 580k1.22×
  • A waterfront condo in Victoria's Inner Harbour · CAD 850k0.83×
See the full income x down payment matrix
income (down) / savings (right)
CAD 30k
CAD 60k
CAD 100k
CAD 200k
30,000/yr
CAD 118k
income-bound
CAD 118k
income-bound
CAD 118k
income-bound
CAD 118k
income-bound
50,000/yr
CAD 150k
savings-bound
CAD 197k
income-bound
CAD 197k
income-bound
CAD 197k
income-bound
80,000/yr
CAD 150k
savings-bound
CAD 300k
savings-bound
CAD 315k
income-bound
CAD 315k
income-bound
120,000/yr
CAD 150k
savings-bound
CAD 300k
savings-bound
CAD 472k
income-bound
CAD 472k
income-bound
180,000/yr
CAD 150k
savings-bound
CAD 300k
savings-bound
CAD 500k
savings-bound
CAD 708k
income-bound
Gross income used. No CMHC insurance (20% down).
Next steps

Tools and guides to get you there.

Mortgage calculatorBuild an amortization schedule with extra payments. See total interest and how fast you pay it off.CalculateSavings goal plannerSet your down-payment target and a deadline. We back-solve the monthly savings rate you need.PlanCompound interestSee how your down-payment savings grow over time. Visualize the difference one extra year makes.ProjectBuying your first homeA step-by-step guide covering down payments, mortgage options, and the true cost of homeownership.Read
Frequently asked
The B-20 guideline from OSFI (Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions) requires all federally regulated lenders to qualify borrowers at the higher of their contract rate plus 2% or 5.25%. This means even if you get a mortgage at 4.5%, you must prove you can afford payments at 6.5%. The stress test was introduced in 2018 to protect against interest rate increases and has significantly reduced how much Canadians can borrow.
CMHC (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation) mortgage insurance is mandatory when your down payment is less than 20% of the purchase price. The premium ranges from 2.8% to 4.0% of the mortgage amount, depending on the loan-to-value ratio, and is added to your mortgage balance. With 20% down, no insurance is required — this is the 'uninsured' path modeled here. Insured mortgages get slightly more generous GDS/TDS limits (39%/44%) but require CMHC premiums.
Several programs help first-time buyers: (1) the Home Buyers' Plan (HBP) lets you withdraw up to CAD 60,000 from your RRSP tax-free for a down payment (repayable over 15 years); (2) the First Home Savings Account (FHSA) allows tax-deductible contributions up to CAD 8,000/year (CAD 40,000 lifetime) with tax-free withdrawals for a home purchase; (3) first-time buyers with insured mortgages can now get 30-year amortization (up from 25); (4) the first-time Home Buyers' Tax Credit provides a CAD 10,000 non-refundable tax credit (worth CAD 1,500 in tax savings).
Land transfer tax (LTT) varies significantly by province. Ontario charges a progressive rate from 0.5% to 2.5%, and Toronto adds a separate municipal LTT of the same rate — so Toronto buyers pay double. British Columbia charges 1-3% with a foreign buyer surcharge of 20% in certain areas. Quebec uses 'welcome tax' (droits de mutation) at 0.5-1.5%. Alberta and Saskatchewan have no land transfer tax but charge smaller title transfer fees. First-time buyers get rebates in some provinces: Ontario rebates up to CAD 4,000, and Toronto rebates up to CAD 4,475 on the municipal portion.
The 5-year fixed rate (~4.5% in 2025) offers payment certainty — your rate is locked for 5 years regardless of Bank of Canada decisions. Variable rates (~4.0-4.5%) move with the overnight rate and have historically cost less over full mortgage lifespans, but you accept payment volatility. In Canada, most mortgages renew every 5 years (the amortization may be 25 years, but the term is typically 5), so even fixed-rate borrowers face rate risk at renewal. The stress test applies at qualification regardless of your rate choice.