Can you afford to buy a home in Montreal? This is how much you need to make

Signs advertising houses for sale are shown in Montreal, Friday, March 4, 2022. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes)

If you’re considering buying a home in Montreal this year, you may want to double-check your finances to make sure you can really afford it.

In January, the Bank of Canada lowered its key interest rate to three per cent, and as such, access to home ownership improved in cities across Canada, including Montreal, reports Noovo Info.

However, a Feb. 20 report from RateHub, an online mortgage services firm, states that despite this, homeownership conditions deteriorated between December 2024 and January 2025.

One of the things that caused this is that the household income required to buy a property increased in most of the major markets.

In Montreal, the average home price rose to $549,900 in January, an increase of $7,000 compared to the month prior.

RateHub states the annual household income required to buy a home is now $121,950, up $1,350 compared to December.

The numbers are calculated based on a stress test rate of 6.70 per cent and a fixed-rate mortgage at 4.70 per cent.

It also factors in a 10 per cent down payment, a 25-year amortization, annual property taxes of $4,000 and a monthly heating bill of $150.

All the same, with rents increasing in Quebec, according to the Administrative Rental Tribunal (TAL), more people are considering the possibility of purchasing their own homes.

According to TAL’s January calculations, monthly rents could increase by 5.9 per cent in 2025, meaning a rental costing $1,000 could soon go up to $1,059.

This doesn’t include heating, insurance, tax increases or major renovations.

The average asking rent in Quebec, as of December, was $1,972.