These are the most affordable Ontario cities to buy a house in 2023

Ontario residents hoping to buy a house in an affordable city may have to travel pretty far outside the Greater Toronto Area.

Zolo, an independent real estate marketplace, released its list of top affordable cities in Ontario last month. The company made its determination by examining home prices, unemployment rates and population growth.

The three top large cities on Zolo’s list can all be found in the Ottawa area.

The most affordable was Nepean, a municipality just west of the capital. The average home price is about $701,987 while the average household income is about $137,000.

This means, according to Zolo’s calculation, it would take homebuyers about 5.12 years to pay off their purchase. This calculation likely doesn’t include other financial burdens on the buyer.

The second affordable large city was Ottawa proper, followed by Kanata.

No other big cities made the top 10 list of most affordable cities.

Just one medium-sized city—defined as having a population between 30,000 and 100,000—made the top 10 list.

The average home price in LaSalle, located just outside Windsor, was listed at about $259,000. Zolo notes the average income in the area is about $144,600.

The top three small cities on the list are Wasaga Beach, Casselman and Mount Forest.

The average home price for a house in Wasaga Beach is $325,189. With an average income of $91,900 Zolo predicts homeowners will be able to pay off their purchase in just over 3.5 years.

The city ranked the least affordable in Ontario was New Liskeard, a northern municipality along the Quebec border.

The average home price in New Liskeard is listed at $2,291,000 while the average household income is just $92,000.

  WHAT ABOUT THE GTA?  

Of 181 cities analyzed by Zolo, Toronto ranked 161 in terms of affordability.

The average home price was listed at $1,067,275. With an average household income of $127,900, it would take a buyer over eight years to pay off their home.

Here’s where the GTA ranks:

Brampton - Ranked 152 with an average home price of $1,038,271

Mississauga – Ranked 156 with an average home price of $1,036,304

Scarborough - Ranked 150 with an average home price of $650,000

Markham – Ranked 173 with an average home price of $1,234,021

Newmarket – Ranked 164 with an average home price of $1,147,513

Etobicoke – Ranked 177 with an average home price of $1,701,000

Hamilton – Ranked 77 with an average home price of $830,477

TOP 10 LIST OF MOST AFFORDABLE CITIES

Wasaga Beach

Nepean

Casselman

Ottawa

Mount Forest

Kincardine

Napean

LaSalle

Ingersoll

Capreol