Are you earning enough to own a home in Kitchener?

A for sale sign in front of a rental property in Kitchener

Those looking to purchase a home in many southwestern Ontario cities will need to have a gross annual household income of at least $200,000.

This comes from a new report released from finance company hellosafe.ca, which says the average annual income to own a 1,500 square foot house in Ontario is $175,491.

"Ontario's real estate market has reached unprecedented heights, with soaring prices that have left both experts and aspiring homeowners astounded,” Alexandre Desoutter, editor-in-chief for Hellosafe Canada said in a news release. “The combination of limited housing supply, growing demand fueled by population growth, and low interest rates has created a perfect storm, propelling property values to astronomical levels.”

Toronto unsurprisingly ranks number one in the country in terms of price per square foot for a house, recently reaching a new price record of $1,400 per square foot.

Besides Toronto, three other cities in Ontario require a gross annual salary over $500,000 on average to afford a home: Halton Hills, Aurora and Richmond Hill.

Houses in and around Waterloo region came in near the middle of the report with Kitchener and Guelph homes requiring a gross annual salary of $204,431 and $221,829 respectively.

To put it in perspective, the average price per square foot for a house in Guelph at $631 is three times more expensive than Timmins where it is $203.

The methodology used is a calculation based on the assumption of a mortgage loan taken out in Ontario with a personal contribution between 5 per cent and 20 per cent, at a fixed rate for 5 years of 4.89 per cent, over a total period of 25 years, with a debt-to-income ratio of 36 per cent of disposable net income.