Portugal, Canada, and the United States were the countries with the highest house price to income ratio in 2023. In all three countries, the index exceeded 130 index points, while the average for all OECD countries stood at 117.5 index points. The index measures the development of housing affordability and is calculated by dividing nominal house price by nominal disposable income per head, with 2015 set as a base year when the index amounted to 100. An index value of 120, for example, would mean that house price growth has outpaced income growth by 20 percent since 2015. How have house prices worldwide changed since the COVID-19 pandemic? House prices started to rise gradually after the global financial crisis (2007–2008), but this trend accelerated with the pandemic. The countries with advanced economies, which usually have mature housing markets, experienced stronger growth than countries with emerging economies. Real house price growth (accounting for inflation) peaked in 2022 and has since lost some of the gain. Although, many countries experienced a decline in house prices, the global house price index shows that property prices in 2023 were still substantially higher than before COVID-19. Renting vs. buying In the past, house prices have grown faster than rents. However, the home affordability has been declining notably, with a direct impact on rental prices. As people struggle to buy a property of their own, they often turn to rental accommodation. This has resulted in a growing demand for rental apartments and soaring rental prices.

Note: The data release is complete as of August 14th, 2023.
1. (Added April 4th) Canada and Census Divisions = Early April 2023
2. (Added May 1st) Ontario, British Columbia, and Alberta Census Subdivisions (CSDs) = Late April 2023
3a. (Added June 8th) Manitoba and Saskatchewan CSDs
3b. (Added June 12th) Quebec CSDs = June 12th 2023
4. (Added June 30th) Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia CSDs = Early July 2023
5. (Added August 14th) Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut CSDs = Early August 2023.

For more information, please visit HART.ubc.ca.

Housing Assessment Resource Tools (HART)

This dataset contains 18 tables which draw upon data from the 2021 Census of Canada. The tables are a custom order and contains data pertaining to core housing need and characteristics of households. 17 of the tables each cover a different geography in Canada: one for Canada as a whole, one for all Canadian census divisions (CD), and 15 for all census subdivisions (CSD) across Canada. The last table contains the median income for all geographies. Statistics Canada used these median incomes as the "area median household income (AMHI)," from which they derived some of the data fields within the Shelter Costs/Household Income dimension.

Included alongside the data tables is a guide to HART's housing need assessment methodology. This guide is intended to support independent use of HART's custom data both to allow for transparent verification of our analysis, as well as supporting efforts to utilize the data for analysis beyond what HART did. There are many data fields in the data order that we did not use that may be of value for others.

The dataset is in Beyond 20/20 (.ivt) format. The Beyond 20/20 browser is required in order to open it. This software can be freely downloaded from the Statistics Canada website: https://www.statcan.gc.ca/eng/public/beyond20-20 (Windows only). For information on how to use Beyond 20/20, please see: http://odesi2.scholarsportal.info/documentation/Beyond2020/beyond20-quickstart.pdf https://wiki.ubc.ca/Library:Beyond_20/20_Guide

Custom order from Statistics Canada includes the following dimensions and data fields:

Geography:
- Country of Canada, all CDs & Country as a whole
- All 10 Provinces (Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island (PEI), Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia), all CSDs & each Province as a whole
- All 3 Territories (Nunavut, Northwest Territories, Yukon), all CSDs & each Territory as a whole

Data Quality and Suppression:
- The global non-response rate (GNR) is an important measure of census data quality. It combines total non-response (households) and partial non-response (questions). A lower GNR indicates a lower risk of non-response bias and, as a result, a lower risk of inaccuracy. The counts and estimates for geographic areas with a GNR equal to or greater than 50% are not published in the standard products. The counts and estimates for these areas have a high risk of non-response bias, and in most cases, should not be released.

- Area suppression is used to replace all income characteristic data with an 'x' for geographic areas with populations and/or number of households below a specific threshold. If a tabulation contains quantitative income data (e.g., total income, wages), qualitative data based on income concepts (e.g., low income before tax status) or derived data based on quantitative income variables (e.g., indexes) for individuals, families or households, then the following rule applies: income characteristic data are replaced with an 'x' for areas where the population is less than 250 or where the number of private households is less than 40. Source: Statistics Canada

- When showing count data, Statistics Canada employs random rounding in order to reduce the possibility of identifying individuals within the tabulations. Random rounding transforms all raw counts to random rounded counts. Reducing the possibility of identifying individuals within the tabulations becomes pertinent for very small (sub)populations. All counts are rounded to a base of 5, meaning they will end in either 0 or 5. The random rounding algorithm controls the results and rounds the unit value of the count according to a predetermined frequency. Counts ending in 0 or 5 are not changed.

Universe:
Full Universe:
Private Households in Non-farm Non-band Off-reserve Occupied Private Dwellings with Income Greater than zero.

Households examined for Core Housing Need:
Private, non-farm, non-reserve, owner- or renter-households with incomes greater than zero and shelter-cost-to-income ratios less than 100% are assessed for 'Core Housing Need.' Non-family Households with at least one household maintainer aged 15 to 29 attending school are considered not to be in Core Housing Need, regardless of their housing circumstances.

Data Fields:
Note 1: Certain data fields from the original .ivt files were not included in the .csv extracts. Those data fields have been marked with an asterisk (*) below.

Note 2: Certain data fields are new for the 2021 census data order. Those data fields have been marked with a double asterisk (**) below.

Note 3: Certain data fields appear in a different order in 2021 compared to 2016. Those data fields have been marked with a triple asterisk (***) below.

Housing indicators in Core Housing Universe (12)
1. Total - Private Households by core housing need status*
2. Households examined for core housing need
3. Households in core housing need
4. Below one standard only*
5. Below affordability standard only*
6. Below adequacy standard only*
7. Below suitability standard only*
8. Below 2 or more standards*
9. Below affordability and suitability*
10. Below affordability and adequacy*
11. Below suitability and adequacy*
12. Below affordability, suitability, and adequacy*

Tenure Including Presence of Mortgage and Subsidized Housing; Household size (13)
1. Total - Private households by tenure including presence of mortgage payments and subsidized housing*
2. Owner*
3. With mortgage*
4. Without mortgage*
5. Renter*
6. Subsidized housing*
7. Not subsidized housing*
8. Total - Household size
9. 1 person
10. 2 persons
11. 3 persons
12. 4 persons
13. 5 or more persons household

Shelter costs groups/statistics (20)
1. Total – Private households by household income proportion to AMHI_1
2. Households with income 20% or under of area median household income (AMHI)
3. Households with income 21% to 50% of AMHI
4. Households with income 51% to 80% of AMHI
5. Households with income 81% to 120% of AMHI
6. Households with income 121% or more of AMHI
7. Total – Private households by household income proportion to AMHI_2*
8. Households with income 30% and under of AMHI*
9. Households with income 31% to 60% of AMHI*
10. Households with income 61% or more of AMHI*
11. Total – Private households by shelter cost proportion to AMHI_1*
12. Households with shelter cost 0.5% and under of AMHI*
13. Households with shelter cost 0.6% to 1.25% of AMHI*
14. Households with shelter cost 1.26% to 2% of AMHI*
15. Households with shelter cost 2.1% to 3% of AMHI*
16. Households with shelter cost 3.1% or more of AMHI*
17. Total – Private households by shelter cost proportion to AMHI_2*
18. Households with shelter cost 0.75% or under of AMHI*
19. Households with shelter cost 0.76% to 1.5% of AMHI*
20. Households with shelter cost 1.6% or more of AMHI*

Selected characteristics of the households (65)
1. Total – Private households by presence of at least one or of the combined activity limitations (Q11d or Q11e or combined)***
2. Household has at least one person with activity limitations reported for Q11d and Q11e or combined Q11d and Q11e health issues***
3. Total - Private households by presence of at least one or of the combined activity limitations (Q11a, Q11b, Q11c or Q11f or combined)***
4. Household has at least one person who had at least one or of combined activity limitations reported for Q11a, Q11b, Q11c or Q11f***
5.Total - Private households by household type including census family structure*
6. Census family households*
7. One-census-family households without additional person*
8. One couple census family without other persons in the household*
9. Without children*
10. With children*
11. One lone-parent census family without other persons in the household*
12. One-census-family households with additional persons*
13. One couple census family with other persons in the household*
14. Without children*
15. With children*
16. One lone-parent census family with other persons in the household*
17. Multiple-family households*
18. Non-census-family households*
19. Non-family households: One person only*
20. Two-or-more person non-census-family household*
21. Total - Private households by Indigenous household status*
22. Indigenous household status*
23. Total - Private households by visible minority households
24. Visible Minority

The average mortgage payment across all Canadian metros declined in 2023. In the third quarter of the year, Vancouver and Toronto topped the ranking of highest mortgage payment costs. Homebuyers in Vancouver had to pay, on average, 2,410 Canadian dollars monthly, while in Toronto, the average monthly scheduled mortgage payment was 2,318 Canadian dollars. Canada’s housing market House prices in Canada vary widely across the country. In 2023, the average sales price of detached single-family homes in Vancouver was nearly three times as expensive as the national average. Vancouver is undoubtedly considered the least affordable housing market: In 2021, the cost of buying a home with a 25-year mortgage in Canada was approximately 45 percent of the median household income, whereas in Vancouver, it was nearly 64 percent. Development of house prices The development of house prices depends on multiple factors, such as availability on the market and demand. Since 2005, house prices in Canada have been continuously growing. According to the MSL composite house price index, 2021 measured the highest house price increase.