Million-dollar homes vary widely across the country: Royal LePage

What does a million-dollar home look like these days? It varies widely depending on where you look, according to a new report.

Royal LePage Real Estate Services chief operating officer Karen Yolevski says that, unsurprisingly, Vancouver is going to get you the lowest payoff at that price.

In fact, it likely won’t even buy a house.

“Vancouver is going to get you the least amount of home for a million dollars — an average number of bedrooms of 1.8,” she said. “So not quite even two bedrooms. Average bathrooms are 1.6 and about 900 square feet. So you’re probably looking at a condominium at that point.”

Toronto comes in at a close second, with $1 million buying a home with an average of 2.8 bedrooms, 1.9 bathrooms, and just over 1,200 square feet.

Calgary delivers a much bigger bang for your buck, Yolevski says.

“For about a million dollars, you’re going to see 3.1 bedrooms in Calgary, 2.8 bathrooms, and just over 2100 square feet, so quite a bit bigger,” she said. “(That) could be a detached home or a semi-detached home but more likely detached if you’re looking at over 2,000 square feet.”

Yolevski points out that even though home prices have essentially flatlined over the past year as consumers face stricter mortgage qualification standards and higher borrowing costs, your money is still going to get you considerably less than it would have in 2023.

“While on paper a budget of $1 million will get you a similar-sized home today compared to a year ago, monthly carrying costs have increased significantly as mortgage payments have continued to rise from historic lows. Regardless of budget, many buyers in today’s market are facing affordability challenges, forcing compromises to be made on location, property type, and size,” said Yolevski.

With files from Now you Know with Rob Snow.