Search for home in Ontario real estate market humbling for first-time buyers [Video]

This article is the second in Global News’ Spring Housing Buzz series, where we will investigate a number of different areas related to the spring real estate market in Ontario. You can read Part 1 here.

First-time homebuyers Onairy and Joseph Baiya love their three-bedroom townhouse in Whitby, Ont., since it has what they need at a six-figure price range they could afford.

Despite Joseph adding a daily commute to Toronto for work, he got the basement he wanted, while Onairy got the extra space to entertain friends and prepare for a bigger family.

The accountant and the office supervisor, who’ve been married three years now, had been renting a condo in Etobicoke until last year when, like many in Ontario, they decided paying rent was a waste of money.

“It was too much. We were paying for that small one-bedroom, like, $2,500 per month,” said Onairy, who’s originally from the Dominican Republic and arrived in Canada a few years ago …