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ZT: Cost of home ownership continues to rise: RBC) C" O% T0 U1 ]7 _$ B
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Canadian Press; Y! K* U' g1 I2 `
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Wednesday, September 12, 2007
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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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5 h! x' f0 }: F; Z+ _' ]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.3 Z. @$ s5 Q, c5 c: Q
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“Higher house prices, mortgage rates, utilities and property taxes all combined to drive the country-wide deterioration.”8 `, f$ B; u9 a9 @3 L
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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
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/ d7 [' p f7 s- p) N& aThe 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.% O5 k% y7 L+ \# c: z8 v! l) ?
' u; o4 y" Q) X) d' _1 e* iA 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.' X3 S. G2 h: g& _8 ?: Q$ G/ E! b8 z
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Saskatchewan, Alberta and B.C. saw the biggest increase in costs in the quarter.4 u# q! P0 \- _$ B2 Q1 ^
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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.9 o C' v. G W' Y6 u3 ~
6 S E* a5 h; _7 M& ZAmong 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.3 h* w8 P* D) x1 S' V5 o* H* f \+ 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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