One thing that holds a lot of people back from buying is they think they need much more than they actually do to buy a condo. Unfortunately when the media reports on average prices and big sales they usually don’t ever discuss that there are areas in the city where there are actually affordable options. Sure, everyone wants to live on the subway line or within walking distance to their downtown office, but this just isn’t realistic for most people. To give you a better idea of what you can actually afford, I sat down with Ben Sammut from Mortgage Architects to discuss just how much money you need to make to buy a condo in this city.
Before getting started I think it is extremely important to mention that everyone’s situation is different when it comes to getting a mortgage. We tried to simplify this as much as possible though to give you a rough idea of what it would take if you are in good financial standing (ie. no major issues on your credit report) and having been in the same job for about 3 months. Because of this, I strongly recommend discussing your personal situation with a mortgage broker and if you don’t know one, Ben is a pretty awesome guy and even helped me get my mortgage.
The numbers below are based on the current mortgage rate of and utilize the recent mortgage stress test rules that went into place earlier this year.
$300,000 Condo
Estimated Expenses $350/mth (Property Tax & Maintenance Fees)
Salary Required For 5% Down Payment: $62,000 (either combined or solo)
Salary Required For 20% Down Payment: $50,000 (either combined or solo)
Examples of condos which have sold this year matching this criteria:
$450,000 Condo
Estimated Expenses $450/mth (Property Tax & Maintenance Fees)
Salary Required For 5% Down Payment: $93,000 (either combined or solo)
Salary Required For 20% Down Payment: $74,000 (either combined or solo)
Examples of condos which have sold this year matching this criteria:
$600,000 Condo
Estimated Expenses $550/mth (Property Tax & Maintenance Fees)
Salary Required For 5% Down Payment: $123,000
Salary Required For 20% Down Payment: $98,000
Examples of condos which have sold this year matching this criteria:
$750,000 Condo (or home)
Estimated Expenses $700/mth (Property Tax & Maintenance Fees)
Salary Required For 5% Down Payment: $152,000
Salary Required For 20% Down Payment: $123,000
Examples of condos which have sold this year matching this criteria:
$900,000 Condo (or home)
Estimated Expenses $800/mth (Property Tax & Maintenance Fees)
Salary Required For 5% Down Payment: $180,000
Salary Required For 20% Down Payment: $147,000
Examples of condos which have sold this year matching this criteria:
If you have any questions about what you can afford in the city just send me a message either here, or on any social network using the links at the top of this page and for any mortgage related questions you can find Ben on Facebook and Instagram.
