 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
British Columbia's housing affordability notably improved but still has far to go, says RBC ( s$ ^5 l+ Y( ~! p* _. {
TORONTO, April 16 /CNW/ - British Columbia's housing markets are in the& |% {; j% E* w( j
middle of a significant correction that is partly reversing the extensive6 ~2 T3 n1 z/ T7 w2 z
gains of recent years and which is helping restore affordability conditions,. h. l3 n- A5 u7 X/ K
according to the latest housing report released today by RBC Economics.
) r2 B6 r+ x8 T' J- h! @ "The province's housing markets remain under heavy downward pressure,"9 L' c% |/ _/ z4 L' A0 S0 A! y+ z' l
said Robert Hogue, senior economist, RBC. "While housing affordability is3 l+ D' Y+ o7 ~- R% ]6 k
improving as the correction process runs its course. RBC's affordability
5 C4 R) T& k% F' x! O: kmeasures for the province are still at levels far off historical averages."
5 g5 w( P) s, X c! ]) ?) D! ] RBC notes that the sharp rise in unemployment since last summer is# z3 \/ a9 R, [* P' W
worrying households in the province and weighing down demand for housing,
7 F: o( i/ }& `; g! n4 jwhich runs well short of available supply. Such weak market conditions have
( E: ]. i X7 Osustained the declining trend in prices for both existing and new homes.
! O) j% l$ |, O. S& J The RBC Affordability measure for British Columbia, which captures the
# X# W' ?+ @, rproportion of pre-tax household income needed to service the costs of owning a J1 n" A6 J4 a( d+ o8 B' A- `, L
home, improved across all housing segments in the last quarter of 2008.
. t9 u+ D, N2 NAffordability of detached bungalows in the province moved to 66 per cent, the9 O: J/ A* f: G5 z) H, x
standard townhouse to 52.5 per cent, the standard condo to 36.7 per cent, and
0 @& D' _, K1 c4 d F% m7 ]the standard two-story home to 73.7 per cent.% W( a5 g6 c& I
According to the report, there are signs that the B.C. housing markets
4 |! ], K9 A- J' y w+ cmay be stabilizing as sales of existing homes appear to have bottomed out in
2 [, O8 v& U+ ~the closing months of 2008 and the first two in 2009 - although at
$ U& T- _9 ~+ d2 p, q3 F0 J8 xhistorically depressed levels.: g% D) y( T' g2 z3 ?6 b9 w- d' |- B
Despite sharply declining house prices and lower mortgage rates, the cost, e6 C% _, L; n @' b+ k) {
of homeownership in Vancouver is still the highest in the country. House
% b8 {+ c! ^5 J2 L* L5 _* T+ yprices continue to rapidly decline and pricing power remains firmly in the' f _& y, h; f3 s: o
hands of buyers with the sales-to-new listings ratio at historical lows. "This
8 o. _! n9 s& P' tenormous imbalance suggests that prices will likely further correct in the) g1 K8 i# R' X) e$ C" A
months ahead," added Hogue.
, h; }9 A+ u D/ M& V RBC's Affordability measure for a detached bungalow for Canada's largest
: \& A8 p4 G4 G3 C7 L* Ycities is as follows: Vancouver 70.3 per cent, Toronto 51.3 per cent, Calgary
6 X, l ~& e7 d- @4 y ]42.7 per cent, Ottawa 42.7 and Montreal 39.4 per cent.
& h. G1 p8 z3 s' q8 M9 ] The report also looked at mortgage carrying costs relative to incomes for2 C4 ~- _6 [* g
a broader sampling of cities across the country, including Victoria. For these6 C/ V/ a5 g9 Z
cities, RBC has used a narrower measure of housing affordability that only
, e' d( Q5 O5 z1 q' ^( H7 B# @, btakes mortgage payments relative to income into account./ H: o' l/ D! B6 ~. S. S# g& B' ~
The Housing Affordability measure, which RBC has compiled since 1985, is
- n/ E" a5 C( i! Z" C: L* b9 z2 w# ybased on the costs of owning a detached bungalow, a reasonable property
, ?" N& P3 `; b8 R- m1 n7 dbenchmark for the housing market. Alternative housing types are also presented; e& P% x& P( r' W$ Y
including a standard two-storey home, a standard townhouse and a standard R* ]5 M4 k6 u' t+ r# @0 @, \, I3 _7 H
condominium. The higher the reading, the more costly it is to afford a home.
8 M* V) Y8 G$ W( d8 zFor example, an Affordability reading of 50 per cent means that homeownership2 K# k8 S8 {9 T( E6 v* z
costs, including mortgage payments, utilities and property taxes, take up 50
4 r# m5 N2 v" Y- \4 B2 fper cent of a typical household's monthly pre-tax income.
2 u; v' \0 q7 ~0 A5 a5 K2 _$ K; B' b* Y0 T
<<
) [9 c# b- l c7 | Highlights from across Canada:( l# q4 h. ~& M0 q
' ?& r& k8 l/ c- e7 {: X
- Alberta: Since last fall, the declining Alberta economy has4 h- j: r6 ]5 R
intensified the downdraft on the province's housing markets, causing
5 r# l9 D( ]3 T home resales to drop to a 12-year low at the end of 2008 and rebound
3 K1 E7 J! d1 E only modestly since. Affordability has been on an improving track/ t! G6 W8 D. U% W
since about the middle of 2007.
$ ?% s3 L+ E; r - Saskatchewan: Market activity has cooled considerably from the
4 W+ E" J2 Y( G( A% U frenzied pace from 2006 to early 2008 and prices have begun to: u, D1 [, K# T$ ~. J" x
decline. Nonetheless, economic and demographic fundamentals are still
% R; F1 M! V8 L1 ^) ]/ Y largely supportive of the housing market and overshadow extremely# h o; m0 Q4 u, w. K$ _
poor affordability levels.
4 n% w2 b: w0 u$ n# \- U( i - Manitoba: Manitoba's housing markets have fared much better than the
0 i: a1 n# I; h4 O9 S% N vast majority in Canada: resale activity has slowed moderately and
+ X, z7 E) }' \, m- d prices have either held their own or edged down just slightly.5 R7 _; }: J2 f5 r/ o" s% |) g2 w
Affordability has been kept out of the danger zone, helping to; A) i5 D, P$ S; a5 q1 Y
minimize any downside risks." ]( z) W' M/ N% B& ~
- Ontario: With the recession pounding many communities, housing market: E7 s- E3 E5 O0 c9 k6 O& t
conditions have deteriorated considerably. However, the impact is
* ?; ^0 h$ {; c5 }* H unlikely to develop into an all-out rout similar to that of the early
: A* {' R) x4 z. R2 c. k0 T 1990s. Affordability, while still causing some stress, is quickly
; }- J( [. B& D: l2 \ being restored to levels closer to long-term averages.3 I" q3 t6 S3 g2 e
- Quebec: The province's housing markets have been among the last in
& s4 D; Y- @+ F8 i9 z Canada to yield to the weakening trend. The main sign of cooling thus6 [) d g- o& H2 J
far has been a drop in resale activity, as prices have held up0 f3 C8 V: P! [( G2 }
reasonably well. Some of the persisting market strength can be
' i& d& \) j: k. U6 b/ M9 w ascribed to sensible affordability levels, which had eroded only
' L: A( ^( m# J5 v modestly in recent years.3 o/ o( `# H* l! j# l4 g% e; p! V
- Atlantic region: Markets have largely remained stable against the$ O2 r, M3 k3 Q' I- T
general housing downturn, with St. John's becoming the housing hot2 N& Q% }) q, l+ j% d/ f
spot in Canada and Halifax and Saint John maintaining steady upward1 w% P; h3 q1 E1 I% J( A5 H
price momentum. The region is benefiting from improving affordability
8 Y9 O) r. f) C( f: N% Y; L following two years of deterioration.
8 Y( s* g: w$ P8 n >> |
|
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
