St. Catharines-Niagara has experienced the largest drop in housing affordability in the country according to a Desjardins study.
The data shows affordability in the St. Catharines and Niagara area dropped by 14 percent during the first quarter of this year. Kitchener-Cambridge and Kingston tied for second with drops of 12.2 percent, followed by Greater Sudbury with 11.2 percent.
Canada-wide, housing affordability dropped 11.2 percent.
The report authors say the changes across the country are largely driven by increased sales prices and ownership costs while average after-tax income declined.
However, Ontario and Quebec reported modest increases in after-tax income.
The data lists the average sale price in St.Catharines-Niagara for Q1 2021 as $717,702.
Ownership costs for the area, including mortgage payments, property taxes, and utilities, have also increased by 12.8 percent.
Many prospective home buyers have recently been caught up in bidding wars as available housing stock remains low.
Properties have been selling for well over asking prices.