Thinking about moving to another city?
Then you should consider moving to Winnipeg, Charlottetown, or Moncton, which are classified as the three most affordable locations to purchase an executive home, according to the annual Coldwell Banker Home Price Comparison Index.
If you’re planning on trading your executive home in Charlottetown, P.E.I. for one in La Jolla, California, you may have to add an additional $2 million Cdn to buy a similar home, according to the HPCI.
Coldwell Banker’s annual HPCI offers an “apples-to-apples” comparison of similar executive style homes sold in typical, middle-management transferee neighbourhoods in 348 markets across the U.S. and Canada. All prices represent what a single-family, 2,200-square-foot, four-bedroom, 2 1⁄2-bath home with two-car garage might sell for in their given market.
According to the index, La Jolla is North America’s most expensive relocation market at over US $1.7 million. Charlottetown, the most affordable market surveyed, offers a comparable executive home for $143,800 Cdn or about US $105,000. The variance in these two markets represents a staggering difference of close to $2.2 million in Canadian dollars.
In Winnipeg, the price of a similar home is $206,125 Cdn or US $150,456. Winnipeg is classified as the third most affordable in Canada among relocation destinations for corporate transferees, according to the HPCI. Only Charlottetown and Moncton were more affordable than Winnipeg.
“North Americans are a mobile people, especially during an expanding economy,” said Gary Hockey, president of Coldwell Banker Canada. “The Coldwell Banker HPCI ... provides a benchmark for the curious who want to see what their home would cost in other markets.”
Vancouver repeats as Canada’s most expensive relocation destination at $672,750 Cdn.
In general, the home prices in Canada’s major urban centres continue to be the more affordable housing options on the North American scene.
“We have world-class cities here with all the amenities a corporate transferee would expect,” added Hockey. “With the advent of technology, there are now many more options available to employers as to where a transferee can effectively live and work.
“Canada offers an increasingly appealing alternative that delivers excellent quality of life for a very reasonable cost.”
Highlights and top markets lists:
• The cumulative average sale price of the 348 North American markets surveyed is up 12 per cent over 2003.
• More than 60 per cent of the markets surveyed in the Coldwell Banker HPCI have an average home price of less than US $300,000.
• All of North America’s most expensive markets are in the U.S. Seven of the 10 most expensive markets are in California. The others are in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Hawaii.
• Seven of Canada’s most expensive markets are in Ontario. Vancouver and Burnaby, B.C. and Calgary, Alberta round out Canada’s top-10.
• The most affordable place in the U.S. is neighbouring Minot, North Dakota at US $130,300, which is US $20,256 less than a similar home in Winnipeg.