This is How Big of a Home $300K Can Buy You in Major Canadian Cities Right Now

Two people looking at a computer in a cozy home — Pexels

It’s no secret that buying a home in Canada is expensive right now (case in point: 25 per cent of Canadian millennials recently said that they didn’t think they’d ever be able to buy their own home), but just how much does that old adage “location, location, location” factor into the equation?

Data released this month from Point2 looked at how many square feet of home $300,000 could buy you in some of Canada’s most populous cities. While this data looks only at price per square foot, it offers a snapshot of which cities are more – and less – affordable to buy homes in right now.

Let’s start with the good news.

10 Canadian cities with the most square footage for $300,000

Saguenay, QC: 1,685 square feet
Trois-Rivières, QC: 1,685 square feet
St. John’s, NL: 1,579 square feet
Sherbrooke, QC: 1,493 square feet
Quebec City, QC: 1,382 square feet
Regina, SK: 1,255 square feet
Gatineau, QC: 1,190 square feet
Edmonton, AB: 1,115 square feet
Saskatoon, SK: 1,079 square feet
Winnipeg, MB: 1,075 square feet

As this data shows, it looks like you’ll currently get the most space for your money in Quebec cities like Saguenay and Trois-Rivières (which are tied for top spot at just $178 per square foot, and where $300,000k could get you a 1,685-square-foot home).

Now, for some less-exciting numbers:

10 Canadian cities with the least square footage for $300,000

Vancouver, BC: 243 square feet
Downtown Toronto, ON: 247 square feet
Montréal, Downtown & SW, QC: 262 square feet
Richmond, BC: 355 square feet
Burnaby, BC: 377 square feet
Oakville, ON: 383 square feet
Mississauga, ON: 395 square feet
Markham, ON: 403 square feet
Burlington, ON: 404 square feet
Richmond Hill, ON: 412 square feet

While it won’t come as a shock to any Vancouverites or Torontonians dreaming of home ownership, their cities topped the list for the least square footage for $300,000. In Vancouver, $300K will buy you only 243 square feet, while the same amount will only get you a touch more in Toronto, with 247 square feet.

Aside from Montreal, all of the other cities in the top-10 here come from British Columbia or Ontario — suggesting that your home province can make a big impact on how much bang you can get for your buck as a homeowner.