 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
British Columbia's housing affordability notably improved but still has far to go, says RBC
+ Z. y1 G) w2 F8 E/ V9 _ TORONTO, April 16 /CNW/ - British Columbia's housing markets are in the
/ A( [% m. n; C7 Pmiddle of a significant correction that is partly reversing the extensive1 j& e& [$ A8 B" Z w
gains of recent years and which is helping restore affordability conditions,. Y8 v& J/ ~- l& ^$ r
according to the latest housing report released today by RBC Economics.
, q/ _+ Z/ P. p. k9 j: I "The province's housing markets remain under heavy downward pressure,"' A$ `, }/ D) ]
said Robert Hogue, senior economist, RBC. "While housing affordability is( \6 v4 \8 S2 D3 V
improving as the correction process runs its course. RBC's affordability/ P' [4 J+ H/ c: G9 f) y: O& a
measures for the province are still at levels far off historical averages."4 |6 B$ _' L& z# \% N( ]
RBC notes that the sharp rise in unemployment since last summer is' n' s8 H4 ?. ~7 F) s
worrying households in the province and weighing down demand for housing,
$ K' \+ |5 e& r$ `/ g( uwhich runs well short of available supply. Such weak market conditions have! }& K4 X/ v7 u8 O8 ]
sustained the declining trend in prices for both existing and new homes.! c5 A2 p! p, b7 ]
The RBC Affordability measure for British Columbia, which captures the6 C, f7 \' J- K: ~- v8 W
proportion of pre-tax household income needed to service the costs of owning a
" C; m! p& Y. d; V, o( Qhome, improved across all housing segments in the last quarter of 2008.
& _9 F' s- t6 F- b' sAffordability of detached bungalows in the province moved to 66 per cent, the+ W6 T0 s }: [' l! X4 R N |1 u
standard townhouse to 52.5 per cent, the standard condo to 36.7 per cent, and; X: f$ }7 _2 @ B
the standard two-story home to 73.7 per cent.
2 `$ M4 w2 \: Z* A According to the report, there are signs that the B.C. housing markets
5 R/ a0 I* ^3 d6 Qmay be stabilizing as sales of existing homes appear to have bottomed out in {5 r0 N# k+ k0 C
the closing months of 2008 and the first two in 2009 - although at; s J' H \# m r; v- u9 a
historically depressed levels.
3 Z, [0 A4 ~( _7 ~* h- S Despite sharply declining house prices and lower mortgage rates, the cost5 e% r* j/ [3 x0 R, X
of homeownership in Vancouver is still the highest in the country. House
2 ?0 X. Z2 l/ G6 d' d: o! P- Hprices continue to rapidly decline and pricing power remains firmly in the' X9 p+ j3 _8 o7 T" E
hands of buyers with the sales-to-new listings ratio at historical lows. "This5 @* B+ M2 _- z2 F- f) G
enormous imbalance suggests that prices will likely further correct in the
2 F9 X) D3 i6 K' a) [months ahead," added Hogue.9 s+ E6 k* l0 a- x" ^
RBC's Affordability measure for a detached bungalow for Canada's largest4 a4 V* z# r" I' i
cities is as follows: Vancouver 70.3 per cent, Toronto 51.3 per cent, Calgary
! i1 R' v [. B _& D$ E1 |42.7 per cent, Ottawa 42.7 and Montreal 39.4 per cent.1 B9 Z3 ?& r$ d, {! ~; P* V2 e
The report also looked at mortgage carrying costs relative to incomes for( k P$ f1 Y8 U* I+ N# w+ m
a broader sampling of cities across the country, including Victoria. For these1 d! R/ `& `7 N
cities, RBC has used a narrower measure of housing affordability that only
& G" a& Q/ p: K: w: a# Mtakes mortgage payments relative to income into account.& K/ p# Z2 [; z7 J& O( A
The Housing Affordability measure, which RBC has compiled since 1985, is
/ i- @, }7 ]8 g9 o$ x, {based on the costs of owning a detached bungalow, a reasonable property
% M4 K/ D- ?+ lbenchmark for the housing market. Alternative housing types are also presented
5 V$ j- e/ p( \* Hincluding a standard two-storey home, a standard townhouse and a standard8 }4 j) v% i2 B- v! @0 L, Y, a9 X/ l0 |: \
condominium. The higher the reading, the more costly it is to afford a home.0 I6 J+ M2 c0 m: b* j6 p, d
For example, an Affordability reading of 50 per cent means that homeownership
2 ~2 ~$ t/ w! _' d$ ecosts, including mortgage payments, utilities and property taxes, take up 50
3 [, E& h+ M3 X! S! A" H% tper cent of a typical household's monthly pre-tax income.( o3 r, |$ l$ k# `
2 y( d! ~, B% m% _& Y <<! R. V. u) n9 Z; m" K' P
Highlights from across Canada:6 h1 Y' v' ?! j# Y0 m2 e
$ v- F: o @* J
- Alberta: Since last fall, the declining Alberta economy has
3 e; v$ y' q$ f intensified the downdraft on the province's housing markets, causing
2 x: A$ q' C% ^9 A, P4 C; t home resales to drop to a 12-year low at the end of 2008 and rebound$ V- t% R/ z, O" N3 Y8 _2 Q( P
only modestly since. Affordability has been on an improving track. g* Y. w5 X7 I" d/ G) a# Q
since about the middle of 2007.
* }5 M4 g" D, d, O - Saskatchewan: Market activity has cooled considerably from the
. ^9 m/ r, P& p- n* I6 B6 { frenzied pace from 2006 to early 2008 and prices have begun to5 F2 Z- K. m% Q* {
decline. Nonetheless, economic and demographic fundamentals are still
; j5 {& A0 T* j largely supportive of the housing market and overshadow extremely
' W# H& y" M7 v: U) [ poor affordability levels.
% t* X4 Y6 P8 k6 H2 o( v+ y( g+ h8 P - Manitoba: Manitoba's housing markets have fared much better than the' [/ U- G+ i1 Q3 l! Y9 F
vast majority in Canada: resale activity has slowed moderately and6 f# p) \/ Q! a; ]. Z: \5 b" X7 \3 e
prices have either held their own or edged down just slightly.% C+ p- E* q$ d3 |5 t) p/ s; k
Affordability has been kept out of the danger zone, helping to
1 g$ K3 P$ L8 Z; J minimize any downside risks.
6 `9 U4 E) ~" k# ^; ^ - Ontario: With the recession pounding many communities, housing market. _+ t) W* B& D+ g; V; ] y
conditions have deteriorated considerably. However, the impact is
& q. ?$ y, _3 @$ g# Q6 z2 \: B unlikely to develop into an all-out rout similar to that of the early
' R$ c% I- f' V" s7 M, ?$ P 1990s. Affordability, while still causing some stress, is quickly# t- L; f# S# M" f% k
being restored to levels closer to long-term averages.
7 s, f4 P1 t: D! C `) W! [+ V - Quebec: The province's housing markets have been among the last in
0 w) W9 \' X; U! n0 _- l7 t Canada to yield to the weakening trend. The main sign of cooling thus
& Z3 z" o$ j% _+ j far has been a drop in resale activity, as prices have held up
) J! p! z6 K t7 x* S1 w reasonably well. Some of the persisting market strength can be
$ ~6 A/ m' M5 m) h. ` ascribed to sensible affordability levels, which had eroded only5 B9 a2 Y: E: T" Q5 ^! {8 U
modestly in recent years.8 j P/ ~, I8 M8 d- b
- Atlantic region: Markets have largely remained stable against the, m1 j: N- w: c- q
general housing downturn, with St. John's becoming the housing hot
0 _, G/ l+ R: O4 b spot in Canada and Halifax and Saint John maintaining steady upward) @7 ]+ C, N9 C; c6 V- c4 |
price momentum. The region is benefiting from improving affordability7 s, d( F4 ]/ l; w. x
following two years of deterioration.
7 W4 v% w, t3 R; R+ y >> |
|
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
