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Proprietary Index · Updated Monthly

Bronson Job Index

A single number measuring whether the BC Lower Mainland is affordable to a median-income household this month. BJI = 100 means the median household income exactly covers the annual carrying cost on the median benchmark home; below 100 = stressed, above 100 = comfortable.

Latest reading

145Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver · April 2026

affordable (median income covers carrying). Median household income ($102,000) versus annual carrying cost ($70,444) on the $1,098,000 benchmark home.

Methodology

The BJI is computed monthly using public data from FVREB and GVR HPI snapshots, Statistics Canada household income data, and Bank of Canada posted mortgage rates. The full computation is in scripts/generate-bronson-index.mjs in the public repository — anyone can reproduce the value from inputs.

Formula

BJI = (median_household_income / annual_carrying_cost) × 100

where:
  monthly_PI × 12 + property_tax + insurance + strata

Assumptions

down payment pct
0.2
amortization years
25
mortgage rate pct
4.85
mortgage compounding
Canadian semi-annual standard
property tax rate
0.004
strata rate assumed
0.004
insurance annual
1,800
median household income
102,000

Interpretation bands

  • BJI ≥ 110:comfortable affordability — median income comfortably exceeds annual carrying cost
  • BJI 100-109:borderline affordability — median income roughly covers annual carrying cost
  • BJI 80-99:stressed affordability — median income falls 1-20% short of annual carrying cost
  • BJI < 80:severe affordability stress — median income falls 20%+ short, dual-income required

Historical series

MonthBoardHPIBJI
May 2025Fraser Valley Real Estate Board$963,300164
May 2025Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver$1,173,100136
June 2025Fraser Valley Real Estate Board$952,100166
June 2025Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver$1,169,400136
July 2025Fraser Valley Real Estate Board$945,800167
July 2025Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver$1,160,600137
August 2025Fraser Valley Real Estate Board$937,000169
August 2025Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver$1,145,900139
September 2025Fraser Valley Real Estate Board$927,600171
September 2025Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver$1,138,300140
October 2025Fraser Valley Real Estate Board$919,100172
October 2025Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver$1,127,100141
November 2025Fraser Valley Real Estate Board$912,400173
November 2025Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver$1,123,700142
December 2025Fraser Valley Real Estate Board$905,900175
December 2025Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver$1,114,800143
January 2026Fraser Valley Real Estate Board$897,200176
January 2026Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver$1,101,900144
February 2026Fraser Valley Real Estate Board$895,100177
February 2026Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver$1,100,300145
March 2026Fraser Valley Real Estate Board$898,300176
March 2026Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver$1,104,300144
April 2026Fraser Valley Real Estate Board$899,200176
April 2026Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver$1,098,000145

Open data + reproducibility

The BJI is an open-data series under CC BY 4.0. Journalists, academics, and competing brokerages are encouraged to cite the index by URL.

MLS® HPI Source Disclosure

The Bronson Job Index is computed against the MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) Composite Benchmark Price published monthly by the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board (FVREB) and the Greater Vancouver REALTORS (GVR).

The BJI is an aggregate derived index — it does not expose any individual MLS listing, sold price, agent commission, or any other VOW-gated data. Only the published HPI Composite Benchmark Price is consumed.

The MLS® Home Price Index, MLS®, and Multiple Listing Service® are trademarks owned or controlled by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) and identify the quality of services provided by real estate professionals who are members of CREA. Used under license.

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