Ottawa homebuyers needed to earn $390 more to buy a home in August, as mortgage rates increased slightly in the capital over the summer. A new report by Ratehub.ca shows homebuyers needed to earn $135,250 to buy an average-priced home in August, up from $134,860 in July. The average income required to buy a home in Ottawa was $135,960 in June and $134,020 in May. Ratehub.ca looks at the income required to buy a home with a 10 per cent down payment, a 25-year amortization, $4,000 in annual property taxes and a monthly heating bill of $150. The mortgage rate was 4.49 per cent and the stress test rate of 6.49 per cent. According to Ratehub, the average price to buy a home in Ottawa was $630,000 in August, down from $633,100 in July. Ottawa was one of seven Canadian cities to see mortgage affordability worsen in August. “Mortgage rates were the driving factor for those cities that saw affordability worsen,” Penelope Graham, a mortgage expert at Ratehub.ca, said in a statement. “Most cities saw home prices decline, which offset the higher mortgage rates in six of the cities we studied.” St. John’s saw the highest increase in income required between July and August to purchase a home, with the income required increasing $1,960 to $91,580. Fredericton, Edmonton, Halifax, Regina and Winnipeg also saw the income required to purchase a home increase. The income required to buy a home dropped $1,020 in Vancouver to $234,700, while the income needed in Victoria decreased $1,210 to $183,210. In Toronto, the income required to purchase a new home dropped $640 to $200,160 in August.
