The Housing Market Isn’t for Single People
Deep Dives
Explore related topics with these Wikipedia articles, rewritten for enjoyable reading:
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Curtis Report
12 min read
The article directly discusses the 1944 Curtis Report on postwar reconstruction and its housing affordability standards. Readers would benefit from understanding this foundational Canadian housing policy document that established the 20% affordability benchmark.
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Missing middle housing
11 min read
The article mentions Carolyn Whitzman's research on 'missing middle' housing as a solution to affordability. This urban planning concept explains housing types between single-family homes and high-rises that could address the housing crisis discussed.
Jill Evans, Unsplash / iStock / Ana Luisa O.J.
This story was originally published on thewalrus.ca
There’s a running joke in one of my friend circles that, if we ever pooled our resources and lived together, we’d need a cat room. We daydream about what our space would be like beyond feline accommodations: Everyone would have their own bedroom with en suite bathroom, naturally. We’d have a communal kitchen and living space, so we could hang out and get some friend time in. We’d have a housekeeper come in once a week, and as we get older, maybe a nurse to check in on us. It’s a great dream, and I think we’re half serious about living together, especially because half of us still rent. As my friend Diane once said, “As soon as I think I’ve saved enough for a down payment, prices jump.”
Housing is undeniably one of the major questions of our time. In Canada, not only is home ownership out of reach for many people, but even paying rent is getting harder. A 2024 Abacus survey showed nearly three in five Canadians are somewhat or very concerned about losing their home or rental because of financial issues. And that precarity is even more pronounced for single people.
The old rule of thumb was that housing should be 30 percent of your net income. At 40 percent, the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) considers a household “overburdened.” Overburdened is starting to look like the new normal.
In 2025, when I wrote this, surveys found that some Canadians were spending way more than 30 percent of their income on a place to live. The median gross income for single people was $45,069, and 30 percent of that is $13,521, or $1,125 per month. The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Canada, in January 2025, was $2,109, almost double the 30 percent guideline for a median income Canadian. The average monthly mortgage payment in 2024, according to the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation, ranged between $1,337 in New Brunswick and $2,836 in British Columbia. In the United States, the average monthly mortgage payment in 2024 was $2,209 (US). California has the highest monthly payments at $2,500 (US), compared to West Virginia’s $960 (US).
But where did this 30 percent guideline even come from? I asked Carolyn Whitzman, a housing and social policy consultant
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