The chasm is wide and getting ever wider.
We're talking about the disconnect from what people earn and are comfortable with paying for housing and the actual exorbitant cost.
The Kelowna example is dramatic.
The price of a typical starter property in Kelowna -- a bigger condominium, modest townhouse or fixer-upper single-family home -- is $658,000.
The monthly mortgage on such a home is $3,501, taking into account a 6% downpayment and a 25-year amortization.
Yet, the average Kelowna household, be it a singleton, couple or family, can only really comfortably afford $1,749 a month, even if the household has an annual income of $100,000.
The divide between the comfortable-with $1,749 and the $3,501 mortgage is a whopping 95% difference.
In fact, 67% of Canadians can't comfortably afford monthly housing costs above $1,749.
These numbers are from a recent survey done by pollster Leger for everyrate.ca, the Canadian online mortgage marketplace.
"What stood out to me in this survey was that even households earning over $100,000 a year are feeling the pinch, with nearly half unable to comfortably afford housing above $1,749 per month," said everyrate.ca co-founder Andy Hill.
"That shows how pervasive this affordability crisis has become. It's not just affecting low-income Canadians."
If you think the Kelowna scenario is bad, just look at priciest Vancouver where the average starter property is pegged at $812,038 and demands a $4,238 monthly mortgage payment.
Yet, the average Vancouver household is only comfortable with spending $1,787 a month, so the difference is 137%.
Of course, not every city in Canada has the disparity as Kelowna and Vancouver.
For instance, in Edmonton, a starter home comes in at $191,413 and requires a $1,205 a month mortgage.
Yet, the average Edmonton household is comfortable with paying up to $1,557 a month, so the divide is 22% in favour of affordability.
Other key findings in the study are 38% of Canadians can only afford to spend $1,000 or less a month on housing, 78% cannot comfortably manage housing costs above $2,000 a month and 42% of households earning over $100,000 aren't comfortable with monthly housing obligations of more than $1,749 in mortgage or rent.
What this means is a lot of people who would like to buy are stuck renting, they buy a condominium or townhouse when they would rather have a single-family house, they continue to live with roommates when they would rather have a place of their own or they get help from the bank of mom and dad or grandma and grandpa.
The study goes on to further prove housing unaffordability isn't just a problem for low-income earners.
56% of the 1,526 Canadians who answered the survey earn more than $60,000 annually and 71% have post-secondary education.
67% of university graduates are hitting affordability walls and 63% of existing homeowners are struggling with their current mortgage payments.
Such a bind means some Canadians are draining their savings and-or racking up debt in an attempt to keep up.
While mortgage delinquency is low 0.19%, it is on the rise.
The same goes for car loan delinquencies, which are at 2.42%.
