Renting

Finding a place to rent in Canada can take some time. Nationwide, Canada had a rental vacancy rate in 2007 of only 2.6 per­cent.  As long as vacancy rates remain low, you should allow a longer period to find a rental unit than you might expect.

While rental prices vary sig­nif­i­cantly by city – and by neigh­bor­hood within a city – the fol­low­ing aver­ages may help with your bud­get­ing. In 2007, the five most expen­sive cities for renters in Canada were Calgary, Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa, and Edmonton. The aver­age monthly rent for a two-​​bedroom apart­ment was just over $1,000 in Calgary, Vancouver, and Toronto, and just under $1,000 in Ottawa and Edmonton.

Buying

While home prices vary sig­nif­i­cantly by city and by neigh­bor­hood within a city, here are some aver­ages as of late 2007 for Canada’s largest met­ro­pol­i­tan areas:

• Vancouver Real Estate $577,219
• Calgary Real Estate $408,638
• Toronto Real Estate $393,543
• Edmonton Real Estate $325,060
• Ottawa Real Estate $271,867
• Montreal Real Estate $239,079.

Bear in mind that these are aver­ages, and in many of these loca­tions, real estate agents advise bud­get­ing at least $500,000 to $800,000 for cen­trally located, well-​​kept homes. It’s not uncom­mon in any of these cities to find plenty of houses on the mar­ket for $1 mil­lion or more.

– Excerpted from the book, Living Abroad in Canada. To read more, buy the book.

Photo ©Carolyn B. Heller