Calgary second best place to buy a home, according to MoneySense Magazine

Looking for the best place to buy a home? You may have to move, if you’re outside the City of Calgary.

MoneySense Magazine is out with its ranking of Canada’s top neighbourhoods, looking at the top 35 cities to buy based on a number of factors including affordability, local wages, and how many years it would take to buy a home if you put every cent you earned towards paying it off.

Calgary ranks second on the list, with Glenbrook, Rosscarrock and Kingsland coming in as the top three communities to buy in.

Senior Editor Romana King co-authored the report and says affordability based on disposable income is what pushed us near the top.

“The GDP of the city, you know, prior to the oil price plummeting, the GDP was quite high,” she said.
She adds, the ranking is based on data over the past several years and doesn’t take into account the big economic hit the province took at the end of 2014.

The number one city, according to the list, is Thunder Bay, Ontario.

“I think that surprised a lot of people because I don’t think people really think that Thunder Bay is the prime spot to go and purchase an investment property, or to move to, because the homes are relatively affordable, but the reality is the numbers tell a different story,” she said.
Our neighbours to the north in Edmonton ranked 5th.

The full issue of MoneySense Magazine hits newsstands on Mar. 10, 2015