Vancouver real estate is hella expensive, but it’s become ridiculous in recent years. Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) crunched the numbers to find the wage needed to rent in Greater Vancouver. Breaking down the numbers further, we see how unsustainable the region has become. The average one-bedroom is now unaffordable to over half of the city. That’s if we include distant suburbs, and it’s even worse if we don’t.

Housing Affordability

Just because you can make the payments and not go into arrears, does not mean your housing is affordable. The term “affordable” is thrown around a lot, but there’s an actual definition used by the government. For housing to be affordable, shelter expenses need to represent less than 30% of gross (a.k.a. pre-tax) income. Shelter expenses include, but are not limited to, rent, mortgage payments, utilities, taxes. This is the definition used by the CCPA to determine “affordable.”…CLICK for complete article