Am I ready to buy a home? Questions to ask before entering the housing market

Global News's Home School series kicks off with a guide for Canadians wondering if it's the right time for them to enter the housing market.

This article is part of Global News’s Home School series, which gives Canadians the basics they need to know about the housing market that they never learned in school.

Entering the housing market is viewed by many Canadians as an attractive choice, both financially and for the security of having a home to call your own.

The goal is common enough, but the how and when are trickier. How do you know when the timing is right to jump to owning from renting or living with family?

What makes the question so difficult is that it’s not just a matter of dollars and cents — personal circumstances, long-term goals and other life changes all factor into what ends up being, for many, the biggest financial decision of their lives.

Here’s what you need to know before you look to buy your first home.

And if you’re a hopeful first-time buyer navigating the challenges of the market right now, we want to hear from you. Email shareyourstory@globalnews.ca to share the challenges you’re facing, how you’re making first-time ownership work for you, or anything you wish you had known before buying.

There’s one thing that can’t be ignored when buying a home — how much money you’re bringing in.

Comparator site Ratehub.ca recently took a look at the minimum income needed to afford a home across 10 Canadian cities. To do so, it looked at both the average home price in each market as of January 2023, as well as what kind of a mortgage you’d have to qualify for to finance the purchase.