So my partner and I are looking at a 3-bedroom, 2023-build resale townhouse in North Van for $1.17M and honnestly I just want a sanity check whether this is realistic or not. We are first time buyers that are currently renting (3.7k). No car (we walk/transit everywhere), no kids yet, and zero debt. Our gross HHI is 235k, ~14.1k net monthly income. Here's the deal we're currently exploring :
- Purchase Price: $1,170,000 (30-yr Amortization, Insured)
- Down Payment: $150,000 (12.8%) mostly from FHSA/RRSP HBP
- Rate: 4.19% (5-yr fixed, we value stability)
- Total Housing (PITI + Strata (~600$) + Utils): $6,570 (~46.6% of net). Mortgage payments alone would be ~$5,130
- Discretionary Expenses: $4,270 (this is our current life which includes travel, groceries, etc. Very flexible)
- Residual Monthly Cash Flow: ~$3,260 for savings and investments
Post closing, we'd have $150k total. ~$50k is in liquid cash/TFSAs, and $100k is in RRSPs. This is net of all closing costs/taxes/fees.
For future plans, we're looking at a dog in ~1 year, first kid in ~3 years, no car (walk, transit, carshare). We plan to stay for 5-7 years. Our budget assumes 0% income growth, but historically we’ve seen 4-6% annually with promos likely in 1-2 years. I have 6 years at a major tech company and my partner is in a stable corporate field.
Everyone seems to think a ~46% net housing ratio is insane (rightly so) and will lead us to being house poor, but for a HCOL city, are we crazy to think that we’d still be in an acceptable position for today's reality? Are we underestimating the risk of losing our jobs or interest rates shifting in 5 years?