What Can a Physiotherapist Afford to Buy in Québec?
Flickr: ntubrackenhurst
Buying a home is one of life’s biggest milestones; it’s also one of the largest transactions you’ll ever make. In this blog series, we’re looking at the average starting salary of a profession, assume the buyer has no major debts and calculate what they could afford to buy in their city or province.
In Québec, a physiotherapist can expect to earn an average starting salary of $50,467 – $4,205 per month. And if you’re lucky enough to have no major debts after you graduate, that starting salary is good enough that you could enter homeownership. Want to see what a physiotherapist can afford to buy in Québec? Let’s take a look.
After running the numbers through our mortgage affordability calculator, a physiotherapist earning $50,467 a year with no major debts could afford a home priced at $332,216. This figure is based on a down payment of $67,362 (20 per cent), an amortization period of 25 years and a 5-year fixed mortgage rate of 3.29 per cent. Your maximum affordability is determined using your income and expenses. Lenders run your numbers through two debt service ratios – the gross debt service ratio (GDS) and the total debt service ratio (TDS) – both of which are explained in more detail on our site. For now, know that there are a number of housing options in the $332,216 price range in Québec.
Property #1: Downtown Condo
Location: 1125 Rue Notre-Dame O., Ville-Marie (Montréal), QC
Asking Price: $329,000
Features: 2 Bed, 1 Bath
Approximate Square Footage: 729
Property Taxes: $2,951/year ($246/month)
Maintenance Fees: $260/month
Parking Spaces: 1
This beautiful two-bedroom condo is conveniently located in the heart of downtown Montréal. If you enter the price of this condo into our Québec mortgage calculator, assume a 20 per cent down payment ($65,800), a 5-year fixed mortgage rate of 3.29 per cent and an amortization period of 25 years, your monthly mortgage payment would be $1,285. When you add other monthly costs such as property taxes ($246) and maintenance fees ($260), $1,791 of your income would go towards housing each month.
Property #2: Suburban House
Location: 4374 Rue Hillsdale, Pierrefonds-Roxboro (Montréal), QC
Asking Price: $329,000
Features: 3 Bed, 2 Bath
Approximate Square Footage: 2,000
Property Taxes: $3,120/year ($260/month)
Parking Spaces: 2
If you prefer to live in a more spacious home in the suburbs, this beautiful home is newly renovated and has a well kept backyard. Using the calculator once again with a 20 per cent down payment ($65,800), a 5-year fixed mortgage rate of 3.29 per cent and an amortization period of 25 years, your monthly mortgage payment would be $1,285. When you include the property taxes which are $260/month, you could pay just $1,545 each month for a home that is only a 30-minute commute to downtown Montréal.
In the end, the home you choose to live in depends on both personal preferences and priorities. If you don’t mind commuting, you can get a lot more home for your money. But if you want to be within walking distance to work and all of your amenities, it is possible for a physiotherapist to purchase a condo in Québec’s largest city Montréal.