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5 A0 M1 I% u& U$ W% RZT: Cost of home ownership continues to rise: RBC
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; O7 I# ^ i& uCanadian Press
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Wednesday, September 12, 2007
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7 v0 n% ~: l4 MTORONTO — 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.! _( I7 ?: U8 a4 w e
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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.0 O1 g+ ^, Y1 j' X6 c/ ]7 n
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“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./ K; v1 ~4 ^; l! l5 h8 j
! |& T/ x3 N& I9 z0 l“Higher house prices, mortgage rates, utilities and property taxes all combined to drive the country-wide deterioration.”
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- C/ o, c" D( q( J+ 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+ o0 x+ V2 I* E+ o$ J, w+ A( H+ @
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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.$ e7 J) w2 \0 h
$ h" ]6 |1 F+ W' j' mA 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.
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^. w0 S; P6 o% a$ [. VA standard two-storey home was 46 per cent, up from 44 per cent in the first three months of the year.
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Saskatchewan, Alberta and B.C. saw the biggest increase in costs in the quarter.8 Z2 D$ E$ \+ C/ y/ s4 Y
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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.$ b; P9 q6 `. S' A
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Among 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./ E- o3 z: S6 C; d' q5 ~* |) o
4 j M1 G8 B2 f% Z3 a. @ H“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. |
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