The minimum income you need to buy a Toronto condo right now

Toronto condo prices have come down — the median sold price sits around $590,000 in mid-2026, off roughly 6–10% from a year ago. Naturally the question everyone's asking is: does that actually put a condo within reach?

The honest answer is that a lower price helps less than you'd hope, because the income you need to qualify is driven by the mortgage stress test, not the list price alone.

What you actually need to earn

Here's the minimum gross household income to qualify, assuming a 5-year fixed around 4.5%, a 25-year amortization, and the minimum down payment:

• $500,000 condo (5% down, ~$25K): about $119,000.
• $590,000 condo — the current median (~$34K down): about $139,000.
• $700,000 condo (~$45K down): about $163,000.

Lenders don't qualify you at your contract rate — they test you at roughly two points higher. That stress test is why the income needed feels so far above the monthly payment you'd actually make.

For reference, $139,000 of household income lands well into the upper end of the distribution. You can see exactly where any income ranks with the income percentile tool, and run your own price, rate, and down payment through the income-to-buy calculator.

The cost everyone forgets: maintenance fees

This is the part the price tag hides. Lenders fold a portion of your monthly condo maintenance fees into the affordability math, so a building with high fees quietly raises the income you need — even at the same purchase price. A $600–$800/month fee isn't unusual, and on older buildings it can climb fast when a major repair (the roof, the garage, the elevators) hits the reserve fund.

So two identical-looking units at the same price can demand meaningfully different incomes, and carry very different risk. The price is the easy number. The building is the one that bites.

Check the building, not just the price

Before you fall for a unit, pull the building's record. A report card with open work orders, bylaw investigations, and permit history tells you whether those fees are about to jump and whether the place is well run. For Toronto buildings, PropertyMonitor.TO compiles exactly this — RentSafeTO scores, city orders, permits, and nearby development — from City of Toronto open data.

Pairing the two is the whole move: Metrestick tells you the income a price demands; PropertyMonitor tells you whether the building behind that price is worth it.

The takeaway

Cheaper headlines haven't made qualifying easy — a median condo still calls for roughly a $139,000 household income at today's rates. And once you can qualify, the smarter question shifts from "can I afford the price?" to "can I afford this building?" Run the income math, then read the building's record before you sign anything.

Income figures delivered by Metrestick. Underlying data: Canadian mortgage qualification rules (GDS/TDS stress test) + 2026 CRA tax parameters (Open Government Licence – Canada), 2026. Price figures: TRREB / market reports, mid-2026.