Suck it up

Are we bot-free now? No AI robots lurking in the men’s room? Good, let’s get on with today’s all-human, non-digital blog post which will now turn to mocking those who think Canada is the worst place on the planet to afford a home.

Phooey, says a new survey of global shelter costs and incomes. We may not be the most affordable place to buy, but we’re sure not the worst.

In fact, in order of poochedness, here are the least affordable countries:

And which are the most affordable? In order, South Africa, the US, Finland, Bahrain, Denmark, Ireland, Cyprus, NZ, Belgium and Norway.

The study was done by Best Brokers, pricing properties globally by US$ in meters, then correlated with average national incomes, factoring in prevailing mortgage rates.

“By calculating the annual salary as a percentage of the average price of a 100-square-metre apartment, we discovered that some of the least affordable housing markets are not in wealthy, developed nations but in smaller economies where property prices may be relatively low, yet average incomes are even lower,” says the company. “In 2025, Nepal stands out as the least affordable country to buy a home, with the average annual salary covering just 1.61% of the cost of a typical apartment.”

Canada?

We’re good, according to global standards – even though it takes an average of 12 years of income to buy the average pile. “When measured against income, the affordability becomes clearer. In South Africa, a 100-square-metre home (1,076 sq. ft.) costs the equivalent of about 66 average monthly salaries (or roughly 6.3 years of income). In the United States, it takes around 71 monthly wages, just under 7 years of income, to purchase a similarly sized home. This is the best affordability ratio among all the countries in the study, underscoring how relative income strength can offset high nominal prices.”

We score better than Australia, just about everywhere in Europe, the UK, almost all of Asia plus South and Central America. Real estate values in Canada have declined since peaking three years ago. Mortgage rates have fallen and stabilized. Incomes have continued to rise above the rate of inflation for the past four years. Real interest rates (the nominal cost of a loan minus inflation) have dropped meaningfully. And, as this machineless blog has chronicled, home prices in certain areas (Bunnypatch) and in specific forms (high-rise condos) have taken a relative dive.

Now, let’s look at the mighty GTA for a minute since the latest stats just emerged. After a dismal seven months, with the worst rutting season in years, the realtors now think they have something to cheer about. Maybe the Range Rover won’t have to be returned after all. Praise be.

Sales in July were up about 10% year/year. “Improved affordability, brought about by lower home prices and borrowing costs, is starting to translate into increased home sales,” says the cartel boss. “More relief is required, particularly where borrowing costs are concerned, but it’s clear that a growing number of households are finding affordable options for homeownership.”

Affordable? Hmmm.

Prices are down overall just over 5% for the past 12 months. We are sitting about $301,000 below 2022 levels for detached homes. Prices in general were down 1.5% last month – a very significant decline for just four weeks (albeit the temps have been satanic lately). That represented another fifteen grand off the overall average. Inventory topped out at 32,000 a week or two ago, and is down to 30,200. The bad news: that’s the highest total of available listings. Ever. And a normal detached still costs almost $1.4 million.

But it remains a buyer’s market, with a sales-to-new-listings ratio of just 35%.

Here’s the scorecard.

So prices in our largest market continue to slowly melt. Sales have picked up, but from lowly levels. Inventory remains in record territory, and two-thirds of all new listings fail to sell within a month. There are few price increases or above-asking offers, and a slew of reductions weekly – usually disguised as ‘new listings’. Condo prices have collapsed almost 10% in a year. New project construction has virtually ceased. Developers are refinancing against unsold units to keep the lights on.

In short, it’s anything but robust. Slightly higher sales on a flood of inventory and softening asking prices is to be expected. This is what a market should do.

Of course, a lot is going to change, come September and October. It seems baked-in that interest rates will decline – at least a little – and there’s a major federal budget coming with an avowed focus on making houseless people less whiny and renters more loved.

Will any of this change the cries that the old are screwing over the young and that Canada’s horrible?

Nah. Not a chance. We lost that one.

About the picture: “Hi Garth, we’re not all mouth-breathing knuckle draggers in Powell River,” writes Scott (from Powell River).  Thanks for the blog!  This is Murphy, our 5 yr.old Aussie Doodle.”

To be in touch or send a picture of your beast, email to ‘garth@garth.ca’.

Source: https://www.greaterfool.ca/2025/08/07/suck-it-up-6/