Cheaper to rent a home than own one in Kamloops and most of Okanagan
Across Canada, homeowners spend $300 more per month in shelter costs than renters. That ratio is much less in Kamloops and the Okanagan but there are still stark differences between cities, according to a new report by Point2 Homes.
Renters in Kamloops spend $150 per month less on shelter than homeowners.
“Surprisingly, renters in Penticton spend $87 more than homeowners on monthly shelter costs,” says an email from Point2 to iNFOnews.ca.
In Vernon, there's only a $4 difference while homeowners pay $78 per month more than renters in Kelowna.
The report focuses on national data but Point2 has broken out Kamloops and Okanagan statistics on a separate spread sheet for iNFOnews.ca.
The national report shows Kelowna, at $78 per month, has the lowest difference between home ownership and rental costs out of the country’s 50 largest cities and 10 largest metropolitan areas. That’s a 5.08% difference. The worst on its list of the top 15 is Barrie, Ontario, where ownership costs are $226 or 14.8% higher than rental costs.
The study is based on Statistics Canada data.
For home ownership, the shelter costs include, where applicable, mortgage payments, property taxes and condominium fees, along with the costs of electricity, heat, water and other municipal services. Renter housing costs include, where applicable, the rent and the costs of electricity, heat, water and other municipal services.
The data shows Kelowna to have the highest home ownership costs at $1,614 per month and highest rental costs at $1,536 per month.
Rentals.ca shows the average rental for a one-bedroom apartment in Kelowna in November was more than $2,000 per month, which is much more than the Point2 data. That’s because Rental.ca numbers are based on apartments advertised for rent each month while the Statistics Canada data covers all rental units in the city.
READ MORE: Kelowna still one of most expensive cities in Canada to rent an apartment
Kamloops home ownership costs were $1,406 per month versus rental costs at $1,256.
Vernon had ownership costs of $1,302 per month versus $1,298 for rental, while Penticton ownership costs were $1,241 with rental costs $87 higher at $1,328.
READ MORE: Real estate sales and prices drop in Okanagan, Kamloops in December
The data also shows that more than 80% of homeowners in the four cities spend less than 30% of their income for shelter. That ranges from a high of 88.7% in Kamloops down to 81.9% in Kelowna.
The 30% of income for shelter figure means housing is considered affordable for that income.
Renters don’t fare as well, with only 55% to 63% of renters spending less than 30% of their income for shelter.
The worst off cities are Kelowna and Penticton where only 55.8% or renters pay less than 30% of their income for shelter. In Vernon, it’s 58% while Kamloops renters fare the best at 63.1%
Nationally, 85.2% of homeowners and 66.9% of renters pay less than 30% of their incomes for shelter.
See the full Point2 national report here.
To contact a reporter for this story, email Rob Munro or call 250-808-0143 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.
We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.
