Red Deer is Canada's third most affordable city, according to a recent Royal LePage survey of 15 communities.
Thunder Bay, Ont. comes out on top for affordability followed by Saint John, N.B. Gatineau,Que. rounded out the list in 15th place.
Royal LePage identified the 15 most affordable cities based on the percentage of income required to service a monthly mortgage payment using provincial median total household income data and city-level aggregate home price data. Mortgage data is based on a three-year fixed term loan at 5.71 per cent amortized over 25 years with a 20 per cent down payment.
By that measure, Red Deer's affordability factor is 25.7 per cent with average house prices at $392,900, monthly mortgage payments at $2,049 and a median total household income of $95,900. The affordability factor is based on the percentage of monthly income that would have to go to mortgage payments.
By comparison, first-place Thunder Bay's affordability rating is 22.2 per cent with house prices of $299,300, mortgage payments of $1,563 and a household income of $84,400.
Edmonton, the only other Alberta city to make the top 15, ranked fifth with an affordability factor of 28.9 per cent. The aggregate home price is listed at $442,200 with monthly mortgage payments of $2,306 and a household income of $95,900.
Royal LePage's analysis of Edmonton could just as easily apply to Red Deer.
"When shopping for a home, your dollars are bound to stretch further in Edmonton than they would in most large urban centres in Canada," says Ed Lastiwka, an associate broker with Royal LePage Noralta Real Estate.
Mayor Ken Johnston said the high affordability ranking is good news.
"I was certainly delighted to see us there," said Johnston.
He believes there are already many people discovering Red Deer as shown by the latest Statistics Canada numbers that said 3,600 had come to the Red Deer metropolitan area between July 2022 and July 2023.
"There are a lot of folks that are looking at our city and seeing what it really has to offer. I would say the next 10 years in Red Deer are going to be absolutely fantastic.
Red Deer and District Chamber of Commerce CEO Scott Robinson said he was a little surprised Red Deer ranked so high.
But a few factors, not all of them positive, such as the city's high unemployment rate not that long ago and modest economic growth, contributed to affordability.
That affordability ranking may change though as the local economy continues to gain momentum.
"Things are starting to pick up. We've turned that corner now and the real estate market is certainly very busy right now.
"We're number three right now, but we might not be in a year, we'll see."
The survey by Hill and Knowlton also probed how respondents felt about finding a cheaper place to live.
"Fifty-seven per cent of respondents who say that they would consider relocating stated a lower cost of living as another incentive to buy a property in one of the most affordable cities," says the survey.
"Forty-one per cent say they want to be closer to nature and live in a less populated area, and 40 per cent say they desire a more relaxed pace of life."
Alberta, specifically Edmonton, ranks tops as destination of choice for both Greater Toronto Area and Greater Vancouver with 19 per cent in each city picking the province's capital.
Overall, 40 per cent of respondents – including 47 per cent of homeowners and 30 per cent of renters – from the country’s largest urban centres say they would not move to one of Canada’s most affordable cities.
Alberta has become the destination of choice for many migrants from across Canada and the world.
The province's population topped 4.8 million as of Jan. 1, according to Statistics Canada. The 202,324 new residents compared with a year earlier is by far the largest annual increase on record.
A decent share of them are coming to Red Deer region.
"Clearly, people are getting the message that we can have a quality of life plus have some affordable accommodation," said Robinson.