 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
British Columbia's housing affordability notably improved but still has far to go, says RBC
& f/ h1 s9 d. N TORONTO, April 16 /CNW/ - British Columbia's housing markets are in the
9 y0 E; m, Q+ i, o. rmiddle of a significant correction that is partly reversing the extensive" q+ c- Y5 [8 e
gains of recent years and which is helping restore affordability conditions,
0 W3 W' @2 k b- \* Qaccording to the latest housing report released today by RBC Economics.8 m3 n$ G( c6 P8 p6 w9 Z+ o& u
"The province's housing markets remain under heavy downward pressure,", ^- x7 B/ A9 n6 U9 k' \2 R, y4 s, q
said Robert Hogue, senior economist, RBC. "While housing affordability is
0 m+ S. }: z- V) G; Wimproving as the correction process runs its course. RBC's affordability
- m9 D2 L% T. s6 b: l/ b- b/ nmeasures for the province are still at levels far off historical averages."5 \0 `4 M/ a: B5 o- H
RBC notes that the sharp rise in unemployment since last summer is
9 `' T3 r2 ?/ Iworrying households in the province and weighing down demand for housing,
( O# {9 W( O3 t/ k$ dwhich runs well short of available supply. Such weak market conditions have
& z' Y9 U- D% S2 `! Vsustained the declining trend in prices for both existing and new homes.
* ?" t4 ~. W9 b The RBC Affordability measure for British Columbia, which captures the5 i: h) P% J! E! F- F/ B% ^7 o
proportion of pre-tax household income needed to service the costs of owning a' H9 C$ \1 m5 p: _/ ?& Y8 G
home, improved across all housing segments in the last quarter of 2008.8 M; A$ u# t0 r
Affordability of detached bungalows in the province moved to 66 per cent, the& L, | v x& l; q1 o9 b. K5 n- N
standard townhouse to 52.5 per cent, the standard condo to 36.7 per cent, and& v- ~# U; j4 J. b* W
the standard two-story home to 73.7 per cent.
3 q- b- v3 \' C K1 | According to the report, there are signs that the B.C. housing markets. s' L+ h4 c$ @' T7 m/ |/ a
may be stabilizing as sales of existing homes appear to have bottomed out in: ~5 R8 U3 H7 L E t
the closing months of 2008 and the first two in 2009 - although at
: e3 o- V' O: S* P: A* c( ~3 Z, X* Yhistorically depressed levels.& p; z, Z& ]+ p7 J* M1 t$ l0 J: q
Despite sharply declining house prices and lower mortgage rates, the cost
. r+ e+ O1 N' G$ F4 q4 I) W9 Fof homeownership in Vancouver is still the highest in the country. House% K8 r& o6 d( W8 J6 _
prices continue to rapidly decline and pricing power remains firmly in the
! j& E& L3 F5 `' |0 k0 \hands of buyers with the sales-to-new listings ratio at historical lows. "This' r; L5 |( ~! x4 j. {
enormous imbalance suggests that prices will likely further correct in the
1 ^4 f0 E' d+ V2 s$ ?: fmonths ahead," added Hogue." N; h8 l- @$ D5 ^4 Q: t1 I
RBC's Affordability measure for a detached bungalow for Canada's largest
& m2 Z; N; P" m9 \cities is as follows: Vancouver 70.3 per cent, Toronto 51.3 per cent, Calgary
/ l# r, W5 q q5 G/ M% M" w42.7 per cent, Ottawa 42.7 and Montreal 39.4 per cent.
2 N# z/ f# c0 i: D1 G The report also looked at mortgage carrying costs relative to incomes for
2 [5 U, H% f7 _2 J! V! m4 E9 V: Ra broader sampling of cities across the country, including Victoria. For these/ k& I; q) _. R
cities, RBC has used a narrower measure of housing affordability that only" n" h* c# a" t& {! n
takes mortgage payments relative to income into account.4 o9 n) E0 G/ Z# e
The Housing Affordability measure, which RBC has compiled since 1985, is/ w: N3 D0 _6 _! g
based on the costs of owning a detached bungalow, a reasonable property
! V0 k2 U4 M* \9 d1 dbenchmark for the housing market. Alternative housing types are also presented
7 _6 ^8 L$ E- n7 Lincluding a standard two-storey home, a standard townhouse and a standard
7 o" U0 a" v0 _* U' u8 w6 H5 qcondominium. The higher the reading, the more costly it is to afford a home.
# f+ e* T& U, p0 u E; @For example, an Affordability reading of 50 per cent means that homeownership
8 z9 l' W5 T, R9 |& O. U( |- hcosts, including mortgage payments, utilities and property taxes, take up 50
( {. m2 Q" m+ b. _7 D+ sper cent of a typical household's monthly pre-tax income.4 W" s8 y8 }# X4 ]! q
4 x, q) c2 y) G( a9 N
<<
! m+ {' F7 a* ~) H Highlights from across Canada:
4 r; r- H: _) W$ r) m9 s) K; U. T3 O: f: i% E) I2 x; J
- Alberta: Since last fall, the declining Alberta economy has
?" W2 Y7 Z* L. h intensified the downdraft on the province's housing markets, causing
w0 V/ b" H8 ]! p home resales to drop to a 12-year low at the end of 2008 and rebound
% L# Y8 x- K: ?7 F only modestly since. Affordability has been on an improving track9 c0 q2 M% W0 R; ?9 ^
since about the middle of 2007." S4 g- a) e9 _, k5 r1 A) ?6 s
- Saskatchewan: Market activity has cooled considerably from the
4 q' u% x! ?9 Q; ~8 O; V2 t- O" `9 N frenzied pace from 2006 to early 2008 and prices have begun to
2 H2 B' h; [: g. t! j7 l8 i/ q8 e decline. Nonetheless, economic and demographic fundamentals are still4 \3 q) O1 T, D: e: C! K% U
largely supportive of the housing market and overshadow extremely
' F9 P9 e1 A! m# i poor affordability levels.
, ~; y% y* Z; z6 M - Manitoba: Manitoba's housing markets have fared much better than the
4 M0 Y. I& @- x& ` { vast majority in Canada: resale activity has slowed moderately and7 b/ H" I% T9 b# p4 Y" U" @/ y* h
prices have either held their own or edged down just slightly.- ~9 D! [% l: e L6 }0 X
Affordability has been kept out of the danger zone, helping to$ @2 g1 M" m% u* V6 z
minimize any downside risks.
( z$ n( f( i. }, q. C% k - Ontario: With the recession pounding many communities, housing market& y, `8 Z6 m( K" ^. Q
conditions have deteriorated considerably. However, the impact is$ d& I8 z1 K* M( L( U( B$ |
unlikely to develop into an all-out rout similar to that of the early: K. x$ o9 u1 z
1990s. Affordability, while still causing some stress, is quickly/ }- o! L3 I- }
being restored to levels closer to long-term averages.1 w7 W" P/ Z1 ?: l: r T/ W
- Quebec: The province's housing markets have been among the last in
0 R7 a0 U' l% }; N) W/ P$ Q Canada to yield to the weakening trend. The main sign of cooling thus
; Z; f$ ^1 f5 e' N s5 \% u0 ^ far has been a drop in resale activity, as prices have held up* J2 x& k; K ]' s9 u8 n* g9 m& e7 p- c
reasonably well. Some of the persisting market strength can be
+ ^" K" I* ]2 X ascribed to sensible affordability levels, which had eroded only
9 N# G& ]2 p# [# u2 A" a" R modestly in recent years., L5 P" C% v7 q6 u
- Atlantic region: Markets have largely remained stable against the
# x& Z8 g# V$ k general housing downturn, with St. John's becoming the housing hot
. G' B1 Q* _2 f- L0 i$ W1 h spot in Canada and Halifax and Saint John maintaining steady upward: B+ u! c: [. z- m% ?" Y5 W. {
price momentum. The region is benefiting from improving affordability* A* f( Z# }) i- v) F
following two years of deterioration.
: s( \2 b3 O; {" i; e% v5 K) N% R >> |
|
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
