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ZT: Cost of home ownership continues to rise: RBC2 ^2 w5 r7 s# @$ x2 ?
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Canadian Press: `) w) d/ C O0 f1 R. r1 g$ X4 \. S X
% D& ~2 q. J/ N' ^2 U- sWednesday, September 12, 2007
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/ G2 S9 z7 y, D2 e0 A$ R$ uTORONTO — 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.
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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.
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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.* U, V9 C$ j; T ^
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“Higher house prices, mortgage rates, utilities and property taxes all combined to drive the country-wide deterioration.”
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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* h" J$ s) a. R/ g6 w% R0 I @
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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.
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4 X7 N8 u5 Z8 w- V5 g6 dA 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.5 e1 Y. {. g$ c0 B% o/ c
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A 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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, I: f# i5 W$ [( w5 X DSaskatchewan, Alberta and B.C. saw the biggest increase in costs in the quarter.* P8 u8 a5 @) K, @5 V
% _8 u2 q. ]# t( Z% zAffordability 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.
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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.* k) N9 m; P& g# ]) G
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“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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