{
  "id": "mortgage-share-of-income",
  "category": "Housing",
  "title": "Mortgage payment as a share of a typical family's income",
  "geography": "Victoria census metropolitan area (Greater Victoria)",
  "scope": "region",
  "levels": [
    "Market (home prices)",
    "Federal (interest rates, mortgage rules)",
    "Municipal and Provincial housing policy"
  ],
  "plain_question": "If a typical family bought a typical home today, what share of their after-tax income would go to the mortgage?",
  "value": 45.2,
  "display_value": "45%",
  "unit": "of median after-tax family income (all home types)",
  "period": "Q2 2026 (April to June 2026)",
  "period_start": "2026-04-01",
  "period_end": "2026-06-28",
  "comparison": {
    "previous_period": "Q2 2025",
    "previous_value": 47.7,
    "change_percent": -2.5,
    "change_unit": "percentage points"
  },
  "trend": "improving",
  "trend_basis": "45.2% in Q2 2026 compared with 47.7% in Q2 2025 (same quarter a year earlier).",
  "direction_good": "down",
  "right_direction": "A lower number means buying a home takes a smaller share of a typical family's income, so it is more affordable.",
  "caveats": [
    "This is a model of a new buyer, not what current owners pay. BC Stats assumes a family earning the median after-tax family income (about $116,299 a year in Q2 2026) buys a home at the median sale price (about $851,170), with a 25-year variable-rate mortgage at the prime rate.",
    "BC Stats' technical note says the calculation assumes no down payment, so real payments for buyers with savings would be lower. Use it to follow the trend over time, not as an exact payment.",
    "Recent income figures are estimates that BC Stats revises as Statistics Canada releases new data, and home prices come from BC Assessment sales records, smoothed over three months. Small quarter-to-quarter changes can be revised.",
    "Covers all home types together (detached houses, townhouses and condos). The mix of homes sold can shift the median price.",
    "The area is the Victoria census metropolitan area (Greater Victoria), which is larger than the City of Victoria."
  ],
  "series": [
    {
      "period": "Q2 2011",
      "value": 35.9
    },
    {
      "period": "Q2 2012",
      "value": 33.8
    },
    {
      "period": "Q2 2013",
      "value": 32.3
    },
    {
      "period": "Q2 2014",
      "value": 31.4
    },
    {
      "period": "Q2 2015",
      "value": 31.2
    },
    {
      "period": "Q2 2016",
      "value": 32.6
    },
    {
      "period": "Q2 2017",
      "value": 33.9
    },
    {
      "period": "Q2 2018",
      "value": 39.5
    },
    {
      "period": "Q2 2019",
      "value": 41.1
    },
    {
      "period": "Q2 2020",
      "value": 35.5
    },
    {
      "period": "Q2 2021",
      "value": 37.4
    },
    {
      "period": "Q2 2022",
      "value": 48.2
    },
    {
      "period": "Q2 2023",
      "value": 60.3
    },
    {
      "period": "Q2 2024",
      "value": 57.9
    },
    {
      "period": "Q2 2025",
      "value": 47.7
    },
    {
      "period": "Q2 2026",
      "value": 45.2
    }
  ],
  "series_note": "Same quarter (Q2) each year",
  "source": {
    "name": "BC Stats, Government of British Columbia (B.C. Housing Affordability: Mortgage Payment as a Percent of Income)",
    "url": "https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/data/statistics/economy/housing-building-permits",
    "dataset_url": "https://catalogue.data.gov.bc.ca/dataset/b-c-housing-affordability",
    "download_url": "https://catalogue.data.gov.bc.ca/dataset/aeb68042-2d0a-4c55-8c09-2c700b74a812/resource/a71e6838-cda1-4acb-adfb-8515c4f9fec9/download/bc-data-catalogue-cma.csv"
  },
  "licence": {
    "name": "Open Government Licence - British Columbia",
    "url": "https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content?id=A519A56BC2BF44E4A008B33FCF527F61"
  },
  "refresh_frequency": "Quarterly",
  "data_published": "2026-08-20",
  "retrieved_at": "2026-11-11T06:55:20Z",
  "attribution": "Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - British Columbia."
}