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ZT: Cost of home ownership continues to rise: RBC
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; v+ [9 U+ f: hCanadian Press
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Wednesday, September 12, 2007& @9 q h* h* V3 X6 ?9 Z1 I [0 h
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TORONTO — 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.$ m, Y1 e3 o. C; [6 h
$ ~" c7 }) n! } d“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.$ [- i( K1 z# a) l" I. z
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“Higher house prices, mortgage rates, utilities and property taxes all combined to drive the country-wide deterioration.”9 o& W4 H) _. B% |4 j5 r' e
! W, I2 `2 \/ z1 l/ N9 QThe 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
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! _4 y8 O* U7 SThe 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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H' m9 k" ]( h6 zA 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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A standard two-storey home was 46 per cent, up from 44 per cent in the first three months of the year. c% m) K3 ^/ i' u Y! V7 i' N
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Saskatchewan, Alberta and B.C. saw the biggest increase in costs in the quarter.( ~0 C# I; c" `* z: i# j( U
8 r, o* h0 }: n4 S2 ?* }* c; ]7 WAffordability 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." Q; j+ k; z, X: ]
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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.4 I! v& z& t; R/ r8 h( ~
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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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