A Look at the Housing Market in Canada

If you are preparing to join the rank of other expatriates and pack up and move your self and your family to Canada you will need to have a place to live. Some expats choose to just rent out an apartment or house while others choose to look for a home to buy, just like they would in their home country. Unfortunately for those of you looking to buy a home there is a strong demand for property in Canada, which means that you have a lot of competition when it comes to looking for a new home.

If you are interested in being a renter instead of an owner then there is good news for you. With the strong demand for property available to buy there has been a decline in the occupancy of rental units. This means that there is a strong and plentiful supply of available rental properties and that the prices of these properties will be in your favor as the availability of rental properties exceeds the number of renters in the country. At least that is the case for the time being. About 33 percent of all properties in Canada are rental properties.

You will find that the rental market in Canada is actually quite renter friendly. And since there are so many vacant units you will see landlords offering up a lot of amenities and perks to get you to choose them over another empty apartment. You might see landlords offering free parking, free rent for a certain number of months, free gym memberships, extra comfort appliances in the apartment and more.

When you are looking for a place to settle down in Canada you might want to live in a place where there is a high population of expats. Most immigrants to Canada settle in Ontario. The greater Toronto area specifically is where you will find the highest number of expats in Canada. Of course, there are immigrants all over Canada, it just so happens that the majority of them reside in the Toronto area.

Unfortunately Toronto is one of the more expensive areas of Canada as far as buying a home goes. The most expensive area in Canada for home prices is the Vancouver area, where the average price for a detached bungalow is around $450,000. For the same property in Toronto you would pay around $375,000. And in Ottawa you would pay around $240,000; in Montreal you would pay around $210,000; and in Calgary it would cost you around $240,000. That being said, the average price in all of Canada would be around $240,000.

If you are wondering about rental prices they are usually higher in cities like Toronto. You can pay around $900 for a one bedroom apartment in Toronto. And if you want a two bedroom it will cost you around $1200.