While I knew that home ownership was taking a huge chunk out of my budget every month, I didn’t realize just how much. A recent report released by RBC Economics Research shows that home ownership costs (the cost of carrying a mortgage as well as property taxes and utilities) are on the rise.
But what really got me was exactly how much pre-tax income was going towards my house in Toronto and how it differed across the country. According to RBC – using an average detached bungalow as a benchmark – almost half (48.6%) of my gross income is being spent on housing costs.
The study outlined how the rest of the country stacks up:
- Vancouver: 66.8%
- Ottawa: 39.2%
- Montreal: 37.5%
- Calgary: 36.7%
Mortgage brokers expect rates expected to rise in 2010 and housing prices on the rebound, it looks like the cost of ownership is going to keep going up. My only consolation at this point is that at least I don’t live in Vancouver.
