This is the most affordable place to live in North America

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This is the most affordable place to live in North America

It s no secret that Canada has some of the most unaffordable housing in North America and by some measures the world. Vancouver now ranks as the least affordable place to live on the continent, according to an Oxford Economics ranking. Oxford says housing affordability deteriorated in nearly all Canadian and U.S. metros in the second quarter of 2021 and in Canada at a faster pace. Nationwide, Canadian home prices are 35% below what a median income household can afford, while in the U.S. prices nationally are 23% lower, suggesting housing affordability remains a bigger problem than down south.

Eight out of nine Canadian cities saw affordability worsen, led by Vancouver, followed by Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa and Hamilton. Oxford also expects affordability to worsen more rapidly in Canada than the U.S. as mortgage rates rise. Toronto is home to some of the country s most expensive real estate, and historically most of it has been in Ontario. But rising prices and the pandemic have pushed the housing boom further afield, with some towns and small cities seeing the biggest price gains. While bidding wars have long been common in Toronto, properties in smaller centres are regularly attracting multiple offers, writes Penelope Graham in a new study by online realtor Zoocasa. This often results in home selling for more than they re listed for — often by hundreds of thousands of dollars. In the study out this morning Zoocasa analyzed final list prices and average initial sold prices in 29 cities in Ontario for September to determine where buyers might be facing the biggest sticker shock. The results may surprise you, because it s not pricey Toronto seeing the biggest sale prices over listing, but small to mid-sized cities where homes are initially put on the market under $1 million. Ottawa tops the list. In Canada s capital you can expect to pay an average of 27.8% more than the list price, from $523,842 to $669,874. Property prices are more expensive in Toronto, close to Whitby, but here homes sell for 16.4% more, from a list price of $938,831 to a sale price of $1,092, 945. Third highest is Windsor, with a 16.3% increase from list to sold, $389,658 to $453,210.

Oshawa and Ajax, also close to Toronto, finish the top five. In Oshawa homes sold for 14.5% more than the list price, from $732,499 to $838,897. Ajax saw a 13.3% hike from $920,323 to $1,043,006. There is a flip side to this: communities where homes are selling for less than they are listed. Zoocasa says these are generally markets known to be pricey. Caledon, a rural municipality outside of Toronto, which features big lots and luxury homes, saw the steepest discount, with the average sale price of $1,594, 531 falling 42.7% below the average list price of $2,784, 334, said Zoocasa s Graham. Oakville comes next with a decline of almost 13%, from $1,718, 552 list to $1,594, 531 sale price. Burlington saw a fall of 8.89% in list-to-sell prices, from $1,178, 422 to $1,073, 628. And Milton prices dropped 8.46% from $1,221, 132 to $1,073, 628.

Kingston goes against the trend because homes here are cheaper, though prices have risen 21.1% over the past year because of low inventories, Zoocasa said. In September, prices dropped 9.58% from the list to sold, from $684,804 to $619,199. That s just a few of the suggestions flying around social media after The Verge reported that Facebook Inc was planning to rebrand itself with a new group name that focuses on the metaverse. Mark Zuckerberg, seen above testifying before U.S. lawmakers last year, has been talking a lot about the metaverse lately, a term which refers to a virtual space where people interact as avatars. Facebook said earlier this week that it wants to hire 10,000 people across Europe to help build its own version of one. The Verge figures Facebook will be placed under the new group with other brands like Instagram and WhatsApp, much like Google did when it created Alphabet in 2015. The rebranding could also take some of the heat off the company which is under regulatory and legal scrutiny over how it handles user safety and hate speech, analysts said. The Verge said the name change will be announced next week, citing a source. Facebook declined to comment. Reuters Erin Scott File Photo: