A new real estate study finds that while the price of housing has been on the rise, Windsor and London are two of the three most affordable markets in Canada.
According to a Point2 study, most homeowners' mortgages in Windsor and London account for 11.4 per cent of their income.
Windsor's Ward 3 Councillor Rino Bortolin tells The Afternoon News the study is misleading.
"Because they collected the data through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, they only collected data for incomes from home owners," he says. "That negates a huge chunk of the population that can't afford to buy a home or are renting."
Bortolin says the lower prices in Windsor are attracting buyers from cities with much higher median incomes and competing bids are driving up prices.
"If you're making minimum wage and then renting at a much higher rate than even just four or five years ago, how much longer will it take you to be able to afford to buy your first entry level home," he says. "We've seen it played out over the last two years where home prices have actually skyrocketed and our incomes have not kept pace."
He says out of town investors continue to buy properties and the demand is driving prices out of reach for many Windsor residents.
"The values on these homes are putting a lot of pressure on entry-level people, whether they're young couples, young professionals," he says. "Their first home purchase is becoming more and more difficult."
Bortolin says increased value on investments in the City of Windsor is positive, but there has to be housing initiatives developed to stabilize the market so everyone has affordable options.
— with files from AM800's Patty Handysides