 鲜花( 1)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
买 ?? 卖 ?? $ R0 A4 b7 N5 G6 ^. Z2 h
: T4 F" M' k! u3 v: J: W! G$ q- O
ZT: Cost of home ownership continues to rise: RBC
* ] M* F* n% r) [; W3 ?" I4 ]7 K ~# X8 C I) ?% G0 m
Canadian Press3 e9 \9 N( `+ i2 z
$ V6 }7 K x5 S- G& `Wednesday, September 12, 2007
8 ~2 e# W* x& e" ?
4 A0 Z+ N4 D& U2 N2 \, wTORONTO — The cost of owning a home in Canada continued to climb in the second quarter as affordability in Western Canada showed the biggest change, according to a new report by the Royal Bank.+ @7 @8 K: k# p6 p# l, @( b
9 u3 A! b% R; W5 B
Saskatchewan suffered its worst ever quarterly deterioration of affordability on record, according to the bank, as an influx of people caught the housing supply off guard.# L% s. @4 h5 p9 p
' c8 s2 A) r. N& e; a; @; N
“In the second quarter, Canada's housing affordability experienced one of the largest and most broadly based quarterly deteriorations since the mid-1990s,” said Derek Holt, assistant chief economist, RBC.
0 ? V8 R3 t- Z; j
& A; b* }) E; T& Z% L3 F9 y1 r“Higher house prices, mortgage rates, utilities and property taxes all combined to drive the country-wide deterioration.”
1 \9 \, B; F# M& p/ N0 \% ]' m! K8 Q7 W+ p1 r0 Q, G V/ U
The report measures the proportion of pre-tax household income needed to service the costs of owning a home. The higher the reading, the more costly it is to afford a home
4 ?+ i' s* r4 w
# E' y9 k4 k" O. `; M! K1 b9 _: {The bank said a standard condo was the most affordable, requiring about 29 per cent of income compared with 27.5 per cent in the first quarter.
! X* D5 p4 t" m2 n+ ~6 H6 ^! u* m) O5 k/ D; M$ U7 I0 l
A standard townhouse was next at 33 per cent, up from 31.5 per cent in the first quarter followed by a detached bungalow which increased from 39 per cent to 41 per cent in the second quarter.
z+ l S2 e& Z6 X. z3 ^$ e4 {! ^1 S
A standard two-storey home was 46 per cent, up from 44 per cent in the first three months of the year.: `# d1 ?: a: R9 P5 p! Q; M/ t
3 t2 g; A# }' B7 `/ S' ^2 {! ?
Saskatchewan, Alberta and B.C. saw the biggest increase in costs in the quarter.
5 c3 H5 Z; e+ A2 C- P( O6 O/ v& I0 k4 X
Affordability fell about 20 per cent in Saskatchewan with no signs that prices were letting up yet, but the bank said the high prices were starting to weigh on demand.; X5 P: b, x% t( S
' C% `& G1 \2 e* r9 S+ E3 p: [7 MAmong Canada's largest cities, a detached bungalow in Vancouver was the most expensive with the proportion of pre-tax household income needed to own a home coming in at 71 per cent. Toronto and Calgary followed at 45 per cent, Montreal at 36 per cent and Ottawa at 31 per cent.
^$ O" e3 A5 L) G8 p! K( Z: o6 t6 d: L$ b; R+ E
“Market conditions in Vancouver have loosened up during the year, but conditions remain tilted in favour of a seller's market and are still supportive of fairly strong price gains,” the report said. |
|