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British Columbia's housing affordability notably improved but still has far to go, says RBC ) P( Z1 T; f/ [2 u( R
TORONTO, April 16 /CNW/ - British Columbia's housing markets are in the2 a$ j. X1 c' v0 r
middle of a significant correction that is partly reversing the extensive
; [/ x/ X8 U2 } K8 g2 a9 \+ wgains of recent years and which is helping restore affordability conditions,
5 Q; t; s4 M7 \! B. ?6 g2 z/ B/ }/ i% ]according to the latest housing report released today by RBC Economics.# n5 |2 n8 m* W6 _
"The province's housing markets remain under heavy downward pressure,"+ l+ B+ [ c' G8 {, L) x; p* U
said Robert Hogue, senior economist, RBC. "While housing affordability is8 M- ^* I+ Q% H+ j- ], l) z
improving as the correction process runs its course. RBC's affordability! D/ {. g8 I7 u' W
measures for the province are still at levels far off historical averages."! N9 }: A, V/ A0 ~- d ?# l
RBC notes that the sharp rise in unemployment since last summer is& Y+ z$ J8 t, z! a9 Y7 @/ M3 T
worrying households in the province and weighing down demand for housing,: e- j6 X$ C" h5 U$ H; P
which runs well short of available supply. Such weak market conditions have
( X9 g4 @; ?) Z, E# ?sustained the declining trend in prices for both existing and new homes.7 E9 w" V& G* x, B+ y# [2 L
The RBC Affordability measure for British Columbia, which captures the
$ N0 F6 x7 e! ?% J# o6 K5 mproportion of pre-tax household income needed to service the costs of owning a9 v( E, s3 t0 ~3 A% C! f
home, improved across all housing segments in the last quarter of 2008.
0 i/ X: f( ^8 L8 b: u7 SAffordability of detached bungalows in the province moved to 66 per cent, the) ^6 V7 R% O# s6 I0 u" }0 U
standard townhouse to 52.5 per cent, the standard condo to 36.7 per cent, and
7 w1 T) c0 g/ G. F. Rthe standard two-story home to 73.7 per cent.
+ I. `) _- [8 P y- @) e" U According to the report, there are signs that the B.C. housing markets& v9 m" n; L: A0 O% s
may be stabilizing as sales of existing homes appear to have bottomed out in* ?! ^8 S) B3 |; u
the closing months of 2008 and the first two in 2009 - although at
& l! `3 [9 g# f5 lhistorically depressed levels.4 ~/ [% [+ @3 [8 S3 |) y6 h9 X
Despite sharply declining house prices and lower mortgage rates, the cost% Q4 d, Z) d; j
of homeownership in Vancouver is still the highest in the country. House
4 b# c& h" u" V1 Jprices continue to rapidly decline and pricing power remains firmly in the
2 d( x6 A! Q- E+ Chands of buyers with the sales-to-new listings ratio at historical lows. "This9 z* n$ W! o v7 |" U" Z
enormous imbalance suggests that prices will likely further correct in the! {" P. A, @- ?
months ahead," added Hogue.2 `- ]# X! E9 P" `
RBC's Affordability measure for a detached bungalow for Canada's largest, C' T# ]. e, G* q, a5 C
cities is as follows: Vancouver 70.3 per cent, Toronto 51.3 per cent, Calgary
3 j$ V9 l3 A7 r2 a0 w, t42.7 per cent, Ottawa 42.7 and Montreal 39.4 per cent.
' b1 A6 I' b! e$ H2 S3 o The report also looked at mortgage carrying costs relative to incomes for! ?( e' ^( R$ `" z* W
a broader sampling of cities across the country, including Victoria. For these9 W, n" r" T, g2 \$ f' a% @
cities, RBC has used a narrower measure of housing affordability that only
2 s: A- h" z* t! ptakes mortgage payments relative to income into account.
) D! G! w1 G8 |+ v5 z& g0 a The Housing Affordability measure, which RBC has compiled since 1985, is X3 Z" r, g* l9 E( Z& g8 D
based on the costs of owning a detached bungalow, a reasonable property" I4 j! k$ o" |1 p$ W: a1 B
benchmark for the housing market. Alternative housing types are also presented
* x- d( `5 x2 }2 \including a standard two-storey home, a standard townhouse and a standard3 H3 Q; c/ _3 h# T: J% x
condominium. The higher the reading, the more costly it is to afford a home.( Z# [6 E( ?6 Q0 S
For example, an Affordability reading of 50 per cent means that homeownership
, R& k2 c: b& N9 P" [% wcosts, including mortgage payments, utilities and property taxes, take up 50/ i1 g U4 y# M w
per cent of a typical household's monthly pre-tax income.7 h2 u0 U# }0 k( t( d) S+ }- _ A
( j$ p6 \' d8 z2 C. v
<<# d4 `; m" D9 A9 ^: L
Highlights from across Canada:. A6 p* M4 K% Y
" V( b# P4 o$ J: r4 n. {% D/ e
- Alberta: Since last fall, the declining Alberta economy has
5 S4 M6 Y2 [0 I( e9 p9 x intensified the downdraft on the province's housing markets, causing
5 i8 E7 y, ], a7 ~ home resales to drop to a 12-year low at the end of 2008 and rebound
0 l0 G! U9 k* G only modestly since. Affordability has been on an improving track& }, G5 n6 X6 ?5 o+ J
since about the middle of 2007.
9 o) B2 c4 ^0 v' C3 M. R1 c) R - Saskatchewan: Market activity has cooled considerably from the
( }+ n. i7 v1 x; {0 t5 }8 {7 k/ L frenzied pace from 2006 to early 2008 and prices have begun to6 z: ^8 y0 [9 c
decline. Nonetheless, economic and demographic fundamentals are still) x0 p4 G3 [; K. J! j' n6 D
largely supportive of the housing market and overshadow extremely
" e% j* F- `0 D0 U' ]5 M# X; U; ~- V3 x poor affordability levels.8 v/ ?* n7 x# f# _
- Manitoba: Manitoba's housing markets have fared much better than the. k0 d$ e) Z) y K9 F9 q
vast majority in Canada: resale activity has slowed moderately and
! Z9 ^& u/ l& ?1 k/ W prices have either held their own or edged down just slightly.
% s3 I7 L0 j# k5 P* y Affordability has been kept out of the danger zone, helping to
: ^# ?6 u0 d, I. I }+ C' U2 ~ minimize any downside risks.
; B. F( t. A+ Y7 g. D - Ontario: With the recession pounding many communities, housing market* |4 O6 _) N& I* e& X$ B
conditions have deteriorated considerably. However, the impact is3 ] e, b1 N% Y0 Z" E8 I
unlikely to develop into an all-out rout similar to that of the early
- r( A5 z" m, C' H& q% N% J 1990s. Affordability, while still causing some stress, is quickly
: V" p( S; _2 y7 b8 _4 X5 V being restored to levels closer to long-term averages.
1 ]2 x7 d* o4 l5 S - Quebec: The province's housing markets have been among the last in3 ?$ Z, B; o/ @* I/ [
Canada to yield to the weakening trend. The main sign of cooling thus
9 Z$ o& x) P, b0 S5 y$ J5 u far has been a drop in resale activity, as prices have held up# c" \% r7 T! Q& d Z$ t! _" P
reasonably well. Some of the persisting market strength can be1 j4 A8 h. A$ \" i) Q4 L
ascribed to sensible affordability levels, which had eroded only9 Z& H$ i. E3 a1 A. a% k, P4 X2 \: `
modestly in recent years.1 f( k1 t; K: J( F( K: g
- Atlantic region: Markets have largely remained stable against the
0 g( n/ ~2 q4 e, H% _' w! s general housing downturn, with St. John's becoming the housing hot8 D/ \3 w8 ^- g/ c0 g. r
spot in Canada and Halifax and Saint John maintaining steady upward
1 y/ W, V8 N4 r" d3 y5 k# h6 L% ?0 t price momentum. The region is benefiting from improving affordability. A3 C4 V) }6 m: ]& P' \) p' `
following two years of deterioration.8 I+ l% Y8 d" A) `, _
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