Vancouver, Surrey top list of most expensive mortgages compared to rent payments

A recent housing report showcases the price discrepancy between mortgage payments and rent in major British Columbia cities.

Zoocasa.com found that Vancouver, Surrey and Victoria all have average mortgage payments above rent prices.

Vancouver tops the list of 26 Canadian cities with an average mortgage payment of $5,353 compared to an average rent of $3,180.

Surrey was third on the list behind Toronto with an average mortgage of $4,856 while rent sits at $2,291.

Further down the list is Victoria with mortgages averaging $3,930 and rental properties asking $2,376.

Zoocasa compared the costs of renting and owning through some assumptions for consistency in its report.

The website explained that it used average rent prices for one and two bedroom units from Rentals.ca based on listing prices in December. The mortgages were calculated assuming a 20 per cent down payment and a fixed five-year rate of 4.84 per cent over 25 years.

Mortgage amounts were calculated using the December 2023 average home sale benchmark for each city and the best interest rate available at the time the data was collected.

The mortgage amounts were based on the five-year fixed mortgage rate and are not reflective of current rates.

“Why is it that we see higher mortgage costs relative to rent in places like Vancouver and Toronto and the answer is people expect prices to rise,” said Tom Davidoff, University of British Columbia housing expert.

“So you’re going to lose this year but the hope is down the road when you sell you gain.”

Davidoff says with average home prices above $1 million in Vancouver, a home buyer would need to put down 20 per cent. To do so, many would be tasked with saving for a lengthy amount of time while also paying high rent prices.

“That’s at least a $200,000 down if you don’t have the bank of dad and mom working for you,” said Davidoff.

He remains optimistic that building additional homes on government-owned properties is a good first step to providing affordable options.

For those looking to get out of the South Coast market, Zoocasa listed a few cities where the average mortgage payments and rent are nearly at par or in favour of ownership.

In Winnipeg, the average rent was listed at $1,526 per month, whereas the mortgage payment based on the average home cost amounted to $1,521.

The gap between renting and mortgage payments was $54 in Quebec City and $62 in Regina.

Edmonton and Calgary weren’t far behind with both rent prices ranging between $250 and $650 under average mortgage payments.

With files from CTV's Natasha O'Neill