Major Canadian Cities – Worst Spots to Buy

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Vancouver and Toronto are some of the hottest markets in the country when it comes to real estate, but they have also been ranked some of the worst places in the country to make a purchase.

The annual ranking done by Zoocasa Realty and MoneySense, which puts together the report “Where to Buy Real Estate in Canada”, lists 45 regions. Vancouver was marked as one of the most financially challenging housing markets in the country, and both prospective buyers and residents are not surprised.

The data used in the report shows the average home price for last year at $1,230, 200. This represents a 19% increase over a period of three years. The rankings looked at a number of factors. These include:

Neighborhood characteristics
Neighborhood economics
Price growth over time
Home prices
Value and demand

Other Major Cities Considered Worst to Buy

In Ontario, the regions of Oakville and Milton received low ratings, as well as Mississauga and Burlington. Burlington buyers saw the most growth in three years, with the average home price seeing an increase of 67%.

On the West Coast, the report showed that Victoria and Fraser Valley were both bad places to make a home purchase. Fraser Valley includes Abbotsford, which is a city in British Columbia. The numbers indicate that buyers are spending around 34% more than they were spending three years ago. These regions were given ratings of 1.5 and 1.7 stars respectively.

In Calgary, the rating was 1.8 stars, even though there was only a 11% increase in the average price.

Where Should Buyers Look?

The report also indicated the top 10 communities to make a home purchase. Among the top ten were Ontario and New Brunswick.

In New Brunswick, the Greater Moncton area is where buyers can purchase a home at a benchmark price of $302,400. Leading cities in New Brunswick include Fredericton and Saint John. The Ontario cities of Branford and Grey-Bruce Owen Sound areas were among the top 10 as well. This was leading areas in Ontario to include Quite West, North Bay, Huron, Perth, St. Thomas, London and Tillsonburg.

Among the lowest ratings for cities when sorting the list by value were the cities of;

Edmonton
St. John’s
Winnipeg
Regina

Chilliwack, Kamloops and Vancouver Island were in the middle with Halifax. Quebec City and Charlottetown did not make the list, neither were any territories included.

Bevony