The income required to purchase a new home in Ottawa dropped $2,300 in October, as interest rates continued to fall, and the average cost of a home dropped.

A new report from Ratehub.ca shows homebuyers needed an average income of $123,700 in October to purchase the averaged price home for sale in Ottawa, down from $126,100 in September.  Homebuyers needed an income of $127,830 in August and $132,060 in May to buy a home in Ottawa.

“Interest rates continued to drop month-over-month, which means improved affordability again this month," Penelope Graham, mortgage expert at Ratehub.ca said in a statement.

“The effects of the Bank of Canada’s last four rate cuts are becoming more prominent, as mortgage rates and the stress test continued to drop in October. However, demand combined with those factors is creating an affordability sweet spot for active real estate buyers.”

Ratehub.ca looks at the income required to buy an average-priced home in Canada based on a 20 per cent downpayment, a 25-year amortization and $4,000 in annual property taxes, with a mortgage rate of 4.86 per cent and a stress test rate of 6.86 per cent in October.

On October 23, the Bank of Canada cut its key lending rate from 4.25 per cent to 3.75 per cent.

The average home price in Ottawa was $639,400 in Ottawa in October, down from $642,800 in September.

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