Renting vs Buying in Canada: The Numbers They Are Not Showing You

The housing market is looking weaker and weaker than we had incorporated into our January outlook. So definitely we need to take another look at the housing market. We need house prices to come down so that housing is more affordable. Never, ever, ever buy properties in Canada or else you will lose millions of dollars. Tell me honestly, think about the last time that someone told you, make sure you buy a house in Canada as soon as possible. Maybe it was a friend, maybe it was a colleague, maybe it was a fellow immigrant who bought and feels very proud about it. If you have ever been asked that question, comment yes now. Now I want you to hold that advice in your hand for a second, because I have to ask you a very difficult question. Do you think buying a home is the best decision for immigrants? Do you think renting is throwing money away? Have you heard of the phrase house poor and is buying a home in Canada actually making you poorer or wealthier in the long run? All great questions. I know for many of us, it sounds like a financial sin to even ask that question. We've been told that renting is throwing money away since the day we landed, but the reality in 2026 is shifting. Stop rushing to buy a house just to say you own something. Guys, there's nothing wrong with renting if the opportunity to buy does not fit your lifestyle right now. And there's nothing wrong with buying if you actually understand what you're doing. In the next few minutes, I'm going to show you the real numbers city by city in this country. I'm going to show you where the home ownership dream is actually a financial trap that is keeping you looking okay on the outside, but broke. I know you have opinions of your own, but I promise you by the time this video is over, you're going to see this conversation very differently. Here's what I found. In some cities in Canada, renting is putting people $45,000 ahead over 10 years. In other cities, buying wins by 100,000 and nobody's putting these two numbers side by side in one place and showing you where you stand. Well, until today. But let me be honest, the dream of owning a home in Canada, it lives somewhere deep inside every one of us. Like who doesn't want to own their own house? For many of us who immigrated to this country, home ownership is not just a financial goal. It is a symbol. It is validation. It is, I have arrived. It is a moment to point at something and say, this is mine. I have made it in Canada. And I completely understand that. I really do. But here's where things get complicated in 2026. The Canadian dream of home ownership is being stress tested in ways that are making even long-term Canadians stop and rethink everything. Average home prices in Canada are hovering between $665,000 and 700,000. And that's on the low side. Am I lying? The Bank of Canada policy rate is sitting at 2.25%. And that is keeping mortgage rates elevated. A 6% mortgage on a 600,000 loan gives you monthly payments of approximately $3,600. And that is just principal and interest. Before property taxes, before home insurance, before the maintenance, before the repairs. Number one, whatever price you bought your house, there is a 5% tax, GST, is what we call it in Alberta. I think they have an acronym for it in Ontario. On, that is added to the price of the house. Then you have to pay property tax every year. Or you can decide to pay it monthly on that house that you bought, after the tax that you paid when you bought the house. So probably you pay 20% down payment or 10 or 5%. The minimum is five. So why am I paying tax on other percent of the house every year? It doesn't make sense. So I want to ask you something. And I want you to really sit with this question. At what income does that make sense? And what is renting actually costing you compared to buying? Because those two questions have very different answers depending on which city in Canada you are living in. Let me be very fair, because this video is not about telling you what to do. I'm just going to give you the full picture and you can come to your own conclusion by yourself. So let's make a case for buying. First, you are building equity. Every mortgage payment you make reduces what you owe the bank and increases what you own. After a decade in stable Canadian markets, homeowners typically accumulate between 200,000 and $500,000 in equity. And that is your wealth. Second, fixed payment protection. Once you lock in a fixed rate, your mortgage payment does not move while rents around you may go up every year. Your bank cannot call you randomly and say we're increasing your rates by 1%. That security is real. But if you are not on a fixed mortgage payment, that is another story entirely. Thirdly, tax advantages. In Canada, the profit on your primary residence is sheltered from capital gains tax when you sell. That is a significant advantage and renters simply cannot access that. Fourth, control. You decide everything. You can renovate, add a basement suite, rent that part of your home, paint your walls whichever colors you like. You're not adjusting your life to someone else's property rules. And let me add one more because I think that we do not talk about this one enough, especially for immigrants. The psychological impact of ownership. That's huge for immigrants. The moment you finally own your home in a new country, something settles inside you, a sense of belonging that is hard to explain. Child, I'm not going to minimize it. It is real. So for many of us, that is the deepest motivation of all. I have a house in Canada. I can imagine you in the family meeting announcing that. Now that's the case for buying. But now, let me show you the numbers that the home ownership advocates are very quietly living out of the conversation. When I bought this house, if you had told me that this time I'd be taking pictures, trying to put it back on the market after investing so much money in it. I would have laughed at you and rolled on the ground because nothing could have ever prepared me like this. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that the house which I bought, an investment for my kids, would have to be back on the market. Everything that I worked at on the ground so that I can start from scratch. Here is what the data actually says. And I want you to pay close attention because these are city by city comparisons over a 10-year period. In most of Ontario, renters are coming out ahead financially, which means renting is making more sense than owning. In Mississauga, renters save approximately 13,300 compared to owners over 10 years. In Hamilton, Ontario, renters save 45,400. Four, $5,400. And in Toronto, the numbers flip. Buying is better than renting by about $17,000 over 10 years. So in Toronto, owning makes more financial sense. In Vancouver, buying wins by approximately $100,000 over 10 years. Ha, Vancouvershire. And in Alberta, Edmonton, Calgary, and surrounding areas, owners save around 56,500 over 10 years because home prices are lower and rents have not been rising as fast. So what does that tell us? It tells us that there is no universal answer. The right decision depends entirely on where in Canada you are and where you are going to live. Now, vacancy rates are also starting to rise in some Canadian cities. Vancouver recently hit a 30-year high for vacancy. In Toronto and Calgary, landlords are offering incentives, free first months, appliances included, because the rental market is shifting. I'm telling you, that means renters right now have more leverage than they have had in years. So if someone is telling you renting is throwing money away, I want you to pull out these numbers and have a very calm, very polite conversation with them. What is going on in Canada that this house costs? What do you think this costs? All right, hold on, because you're wrong. $3 million for that? Okay, this is in Vancouver. And people say Vancouver's the LA of Canada when it comes to real estate. No, in LA, that would cost what? Like 900 grand? Maybe 1.5 on a really bad day? In no world is that $3 million. Now, this is the part that nobody's showing you in full. When you rent, your monthly payment is your monthly payment. That is it. When you buy, here's everything you're actually signing up for. Your mortgage, we said approximately $3,600 per month on a 600,000 loan at 6%. Property taxes, in Ontario, only 700,000 home, anywhere from 4,000 to 7,000 a year. That is 330,000 to 580,000 per month on top of your mortgage. Then home insurance, roughly 150 to $250 a month. Maintenance and repairs. This is the one that catches people off guard. The standard rule is 1% of your home's value per year. On a 700,000 home, that is $7,000 a year. That is $583 every single month that you should be setting aside for when the roof leaks or the furnace gives up or the pipes decide to have a moment. And trust me, it is not if, it is when. Then you have closing costs. When you purchase, you pay between 1.5% and 4% of the price in taxes and legal fees up front. On a 700,000 home, that is between $10,500 and $28,000 before you even step through the front door. There's also real estate commissions when and if you decide to sell, typically 4% to 5% of the sale price. So on a 700,000 home, that is $28,000 to $35,000. Now, I am not sharing this to frighten you. I can't do that, can I? I'm sharing it because one in three Canadians admit to feeling house poor, meaning most of their income is going to their home and there's very little left for savings, investments, or even emergencies. And shockingly, one in five Canadian homeowners actually regret buying their home. They regret it. After the biggest financial transaction of their life, most Canadians have nearly $4.80 in real estate for every $1 of their after-tax income. That means their wealth is locked in a property they cannot access without selling or refinancing. 40% of Canadians are house poor. What does this mean? When you spend more than 40% of your income on your housing expenses, these are expenses such as your mortgage, your utilities, your taxes. It can happen from the get-go if you purchase something that's a little on the higher end of your budget. Meanwhile, your TFSA sits underfunded, the RRSP is barely touched, and the experts are quietly asking, have you considered renting and investing the difference? This sounds very funny to me, but it is true. Some financial experts will tell you that a well-invested TFSA and RRSP consistently funded over 10 years can match or beat the equity you would accumulate in a home. Not in every city though, but in some. And that is a conversation worth having. So let us bring this home and tie everything together for you. The real question is not, should I rent or buy in Canada? The real question is, what are your numbers? What is your city? What is your timeline? And how stable is your income right now? Does the math make sense for you? If the math is not mathing, please press break. Don't put yourself under undue pressure just to be a homeowner. Is owning a house, but not being able to do anything, not being able to afford to go out and experience more life and make memories worth it. I see so many people on this app that are like, oh, well, I enjoy my mortgage and stuff like that. But do you? I'm not saying you have to go party every weekend or anything like that, but at least they can go out and see their family, fly somewhere, take vacations. What I don't agree with is the shame around renting. Like if you're renting, you're all of a sudden behind in life. That is so far from the truth. Renting gives you flexibility. It gives you options. It gives you room to move while you're still trying to figure things out. People treat home ownership like it's a badge of honor. Like it's something that you're just supposed to collect to prove that all of a sudden you're doing well in life. Guys, a mortgage isn't a milestone. It's a long-term commitment. A lot of what you see is smokes and mirrors. Some people are house poor, some are over-leveraged, and some people have lost thousands of dollars because of market conditions. Please do not fall into someone else's timeline. There are upsides with both. Home ownership is powerful, but so is renting. Regardless of what side you're on, there will always be opportunities to build wealth. If you're in Hamilton or Mississauga or you're stretching yourself to buy, the data says renting may be the smarter financial move for you right now. Full stop. Running without an umbrella in a storm will not make you arrive faster. It will just make you soaking wet and sick. If you're in Alberta and your income is stable and you plan to stay for at least eight to 10 years, buying might genuinely be the stronger financial decision for you. If you're in Toronto or Vancouver, the math is closer, but buying at these prices requires a strong income and you need to make sure that your housing costs are not exceeding 30% of what you bring home, because 30% is the expert threshold. If your combined housing costs are taking you to 50, 60, or 70% of your income, ah, that is not wealth building. That is financial suicide. And it is exactly how people end up being homeowners but broke in one of the wealthiest countries in the world. I bought a house when I was 26 and fell immediately into poverty. Okay, that first mortgage payment came in and I was like, oh, this is a situation. But at first you think you can handle it, right? Like, you know, what's a couple thou? What's a couple thou? I got that. But then the pipes in my 80 year old home broke immediately as soon as I bought the house. Wiped out my savings. Then another pipe in a different area of the house broke. Okay, that's, I'm struggling. Okay, I need help. Then my neighbor's pipe, it was a twin house, her pipe broke. And she didn't believe that her pipe broke. But her pipe broke on my side of the house. So all of that water that was coming down was spraying into my home. And then my water heater broke. When I tell y'all I went from living in the lap of luxury to destitute immediately. I tell you, I was struggling. I had to go to my parents every other day for dinner. My biggest advice right now is this. Do not let cultural pressure or social comparison push you into the biggest financial decision of your life without running your own numbers first. Waiting when done strategically is not losing. It is planning. It is protecting yourself. It is building the financial foundation that makes the next decision from a position of strength, not desperation, not trying to please people. The people who are making a wrong decision and who get hurt are not the ones who choose renting. No, they are the ones who buy before they are ready, who stretch themselves too far and then cannot withstand one bad month. So let me summarize what we covered today because I want to make sure that you walk away with something real and actionable. One, Canadian home prices average $665,000 to $700,000. A 6% mortgage on 600,000 is $3,600 a month before other costs. Two, in Hamilton and Mississauga, renters come up $13,300 to $45,400 ahead over 10 years. In Alberta, buyers win by $56,500. In Vancouver, buyers win by $100,000. Location is everything. Three, the hidden cost of buying property taxes, insurance, maintenance, closing costs, commissions, repairs, they add thousands of dollars every single year that most people are not factoring in when they calculate. Four, one in three Canadian homeowners feel house poor. One in five regret buying. These are not fringe cases. These are real people in real cities who moved too fast. Five, the right answer depends on your city, your income, your timeline, and your financial plan, not on your neighbor's story, not what the family back home is expect, not what people are pressuring you to do, not your pride. Now, if you are trying to figure out your specific next steps, whether you are renting right now or you're wondering whether to buy or you're about to purchase and you want to make sure that your finances are truly ready, I have put together a free seven steps to buying a house document in the description below. It is designed to help you make an informed decision about buying a house. Go and grab it. It is free. And it could be the thing that saves you from the most common financial mistake that immigrants make when settling into life in Canada. Please share this with one person who needs to see it because the right information at the right time, it genuinely changes everything. I'm going to see you in the next video. Make sure you stay sharp, stay strategic, and stay blessed. And make sure to check out this video next while I see you in the next one. Bye.