 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
British Columbia's housing affordability notably improved but still has far to go, says RBC " x+ B+ E, @* ?* g6 g* T
TORONTO, April 16 /CNW/ - British Columbia's housing markets are in the r6 |( {: V+ D8 F
middle of a significant correction that is partly reversing the extensive
4 T$ U- a% ?. ^% b w7 |gains of recent years and which is helping restore affordability conditions,5 S0 Q& {2 ?2 Z1 k' X
according to the latest housing report released today by RBC Economics.
8 {% {8 \& ?+ H ]* O "The province's housing markets remain under heavy downward pressure,"
d. F5 }8 s5 Q1 Esaid Robert Hogue, senior economist, RBC. "While housing affordability is! p8 J) \( j: L
improving as the correction process runs its course. RBC's affordability, h! Z8 [$ C9 {) c; q, T
measures for the province are still at levels far off historical averages."' G- d- l* x' x
RBC notes that the sharp rise in unemployment since last summer is
' o- z8 i8 p3 ?! _worrying households in the province and weighing down demand for housing,
( g4 X1 f- a6 h% }% D& nwhich runs well short of available supply. Such weak market conditions have
! `! J6 C I L% R3 @4 K. |& psustained the declining trend in prices for both existing and new homes.
2 |+ Y) a& I9 O The RBC Affordability measure for British Columbia, which captures the
) [* U: G$ ~( N! B3 y* Z. B# Eproportion of pre-tax household income needed to service the costs of owning a5 D1 d- z( I. a
home, improved across all housing segments in the last quarter of 2008.* S$ Y$ y' R" p0 I) y
Affordability of detached bungalows in the province moved to 66 per cent, the
; |7 D4 d* A: T" U" q0 ystandard townhouse to 52.5 per cent, the standard condo to 36.7 per cent, and
( ^: l2 v* F+ V% ythe standard two-story home to 73.7 per cent.
1 ]: A l, I- V/ r% }/ }3 [ According to the report, there are signs that the B.C. housing markets
; T; t/ n7 }7 q5 [* E" y) Xmay be stabilizing as sales of existing homes appear to have bottomed out in
. e) i& U" r% T: i6 H& C! b8 Zthe closing months of 2008 and the first two in 2009 - although at
% j2 d: K: e1 l1 V H" x1 ehistorically depressed levels.! d/ g I0 m' ~. {" P
Despite sharply declining house prices and lower mortgage rates, the cost8 G2 a0 T/ j6 ?1 |, A8 X) v
of homeownership in Vancouver is still the highest in the country. House
. J9 Q c: s( |* `prices continue to rapidly decline and pricing power remains firmly in the* k* a( h5 f" F' ~# A$ t& D
hands of buyers with the sales-to-new listings ratio at historical lows. "This
- N& y5 Z" K0 i9 J J0 ?6 Kenormous imbalance suggests that prices will likely further correct in the
6 u' D6 ^) B: c, k. kmonths ahead," added Hogue.
4 @' Y9 L0 m& _2 @" ^9 y3 ` RBC's Affordability measure for a detached bungalow for Canada's largest
4 m H% l1 i/ ?- Zcities is as follows: Vancouver 70.3 per cent, Toronto 51.3 per cent, Calgary* w' l; b* V0 s
42.7 per cent, Ottawa 42.7 and Montreal 39.4 per cent.& v$ {4 ~2 l% x6 e" c
The report also looked at mortgage carrying costs relative to incomes for3 |) o' k9 J/ ^: J2 g
a broader sampling of cities across the country, including Victoria. For these
; t% B' p' j4 Q# c0 d8 t" Z, Z3 j6 R3 wcities, RBC has used a narrower measure of housing affordability that only
: J. {- K; V2 {3 a# ctakes mortgage payments relative to income into account.6 d, F- i5 p# Y) u# L# N5 a
The Housing Affordability measure, which RBC has compiled since 1985, is9 D% F, K9 j! N& t: f
based on the costs of owning a detached bungalow, a reasonable property! T8 R0 J3 s' Q
benchmark for the housing market. Alternative housing types are also presented
6 x- `1 x2 M, {0 I* }, i! Dincluding a standard two-storey home, a standard townhouse and a standard. Q/ G2 }. i1 t& F% `+ G1 @
condominium. The higher the reading, the more costly it is to afford a home.
' k1 L5 a/ P3 }! s8 d% TFor example, an Affordability reading of 50 per cent means that homeownership
& B9 {) A6 e/ h% |! bcosts, including mortgage payments, utilities and property taxes, take up 50
1 q- ~" h% |; U5 ?6 y! jper cent of a typical household's monthly pre-tax income.
8 M7 Y i* Z5 Y @. A
( D% \# J1 m$ A8 E2 _ P. B7 C6 E& w! P <<
, U4 j) T: Y8 z/ ] n0 r Highlights from across Canada:; [1 ?$ A9 P) u- _; a1 e1 V/ U
4 _, k( ^" a& C - Alberta: Since last fall, the declining Alberta economy has; f# w! z/ }/ r9 {
intensified the downdraft on the province's housing markets, causing# V; H( Q4 s1 V
home resales to drop to a 12-year low at the end of 2008 and rebound
* r2 O, r- x" Q, H1 ?3 [. f0 T only modestly since. Affordability has been on an improving track( {; a V- X# n2 k$ `
since about the middle of 2007., k6 f/ P, c6 K0 L3 u. a
- Saskatchewan: Market activity has cooled considerably from the
( P$ E" [$ F( f/ { frenzied pace from 2006 to early 2008 and prices have begun to
* G( r& }! _# v decline. Nonetheless, economic and demographic fundamentals are still
: U, q( D4 w- @( H" ?5 O1 H largely supportive of the housing market and overshadow extremely
' h' j% r6 }8 ~/ J% |1 Q" O- Z poor affordability levels.
$ \( A# g8 }% S: L3 v$ l5 K- m3 E - Manitoba: Manitoba's housing markets have fared much better than the
3 w- b, @, i% G+ H+ N0 q vast majority in Canada: resale activity has slowed moderately and
* l b8 ]% Q! l3 L- e, x prices have either held their own or edged down just slightly.) l5 e' ~( s- A$ {0 x- w
Affordability has been kept out of the danger zone, helping to1 f1 b. f) r, _5 {
minimize any downside risks.
. X/ |0 R, H1 z$ c - Ontario: With the recession pounding many communities, housing market O, {, k6 d! Y( t
conditions have deteriorated considerably. However, the impact is |7 R1 \) C1 K9 N
unlikely to develop into an all-out rout similar to that of the early
# E! f/ f) R1 W! V3 Z! \' B 1990s. Affordability, while still causing some stress, is quickly) K; x( y- v& W( C5 ~- R L1 g
being restored to levels closer to long-term averages.4 T2 h1 q( C9 _" R
- Quebec: The province's housing markets have been among the last in
" T. _, l2 l( ?! N) `/ L Canada to yield to the weakening trend. The main sign of cooling thus
8 ?2 F+ x' E9 Q2 H8 e9 Q: r far has been a drop in resale activity, as prices have held up
! C" a0 {! S2 q" X( `: C reasonably well. Some of the persisting market strength can be7 h! x1 B3 o" X
ascribed to sensible affordability levels, which had eroded only& d$ [. A2 r4 g* }( I9 Z4 s
modestly in recent years.: V2 f; ~( E( g1 \# o. e: q- Z
- Atlantic region: Markets have largely remained stable against the: V. ~' Y: K, J8 l3 |/ i- X
general housing downturn, with St. John's becoming the housing hot# E) [1 B- a% e l% U! }5 n
spot in Canada and Halifax and Saint John maintaining steady upward
# f9 U( ~2 b- d- t6 n$ }* Y price momentum. The region is benefiting from improving affordability
6 [ b7 G2 r( }8 n, N J following two years of deterioration.
4 t% n( ~# a* Z+ h >> |
|
狗仔卡
发表于 2009-4-15 19:05
提升卡
置顶卡
沉默卡
喧嚣卡
变色卡
显身卡
发表于 2009-4-15 19:53
