 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
British Columbia's housing affordability notably improved but still has far to go, says RBC
, n- Z: `# C- c0 x8 b TORONTO, April 16 /CNW/ - British Columbia's housing markets are in the/ m! W$ @ L$ E+ }
middle of a significant correction that is partly reversing the extensive! g. L7 G5 ?, r; d N/ L, C
gains of recent years and which is helping restore affordability conditions,
6 w5 T! X/ [4 S2 S9 f$ Q& Uaccording to the latest housing report released today by RBC Economics.
5 g2 j+ m Z3 D3 H4 D* M' S) } "The province's housing markets remain under heavy downward pressure,"; J+ z9 `) z/ J
said Robert Hogue, senior economist, RBC. "While housing affordability is# o1 O4 Q6 h; }% r! r
improving as the correction process runs its course. RBC's affordability
4 U9 ]) P; d( Y6 _/ @3 x% Dmeasures for the province are still at levels far off historical averages."
3 N8 o/ _5 X! E, J. g; Q RBC notes that the sharp rise in unemployment since last summer is6 y8 q1 H7 J. c+ k! A
worrying households in the province and weighing down demand for housing,
: ~: h5 o; J1 V5 L& X Cwhich runs well short of available supply. Such weak market conditions have* x4 B* V; W8 K# Z
sustained the declining trend in prices for both existing and new homes.& |6 K) N& S3 Z4 |( t1 G
The RBC Affordability measure for British Columbia, which captures the
6 E' |& v9 A0 }& t. l" ^proportion of pre-tax household income needed to service the costs of owning a; ] G" L3 c a Z- W
home, improved across all housing segments in the last quarter of 2008.
; U5 ?2 o/ Y ~ p- UAffordability of detached bungalows in the province moved to 66 per cent, the8 u" o8 n7 Q5 p' q' d5 o" l
standard townhouse to 52.5 per cent, the standard condo to 36.7 per cent, and
/ k J* [; ?& `3 ^# B8 Zthe standard two-story home to 73.7 per cent.7 A8 q, u1 t/ ?0 j
According to the report, there are signs that the B.C. housing markets. `) j, L3 {- w; U$ c7 t
may be stabilizing as sales of existing homes appear to have bottomed out in
! A' h" X" d1 S9 e+ i# uthe closing months of 2008 and the first two in 2009 - although at
6 a& U7 u Q1 Y/ N9 U+ R5 ]historically depressed levels.; ?( h/ y, D9 Z% m+ w0 m
Despite sharply declining house prices and lower mortgage rates, the cost, d2 N6 B: u: b8 x6 d
of homeownership in Vancouver is still the highest in the country. House
# q' u7 {- K+ I2 V, O5 B; G& sprices continue to rapidly decline and pricing power remains firmly in the& x: m1 B. V( h' [8 g
hands of buyers with the sales-to-new listings ratio at historical lows. "This
d# [( K# M. \- W4 r7 \enormous imbalance suggests that prices will likely further correct in the1 S G* m! X/ ~9 Y, e
months ahead," added Hogue.) u* c3 a# q" n
RBC's Affordability measure for a detached bungalow for Canada's largest: f/ j5 I+ \" g0 S! Z9 j2 ^/ D
cities is as follows: Vancouver 70.3 per cent, Toronto 51.3 per cent, Calgary
& ^ s6 j0 V( n+ ^! u) a42.7 per cent, Ottawa 42.7 and Montreal 39.4 per cent.
7 _" I, W9 W3 p4 j The report also looked at mortgage carrying costs relative to incomes for: A# D) k( V2 Q( \: R
a broader sampling of cities across the country, including Victoria. For these2 J' I" Y# n' ^. G3 k8 _
cities, RBC has used a narrower measure of housing affordability that only
8 \3 r L' U' X) I: E3 x- stakes mortgage payments relative to income into account.
% s( v- ?7 f3 s& b The Housing Affordability measure, which RBC has compiled since 1985, is
) u4 m7 B6 G7 g- b2 d0 @7 a% Wbased on the costs of owning a detached bungalow, a reasonable property
$ C8 z: ~6 S: j+ j7 Tbenchmark for the housing market. Alternative housing types are also presented3 k3 R% [$ ~/ S
including a standard two-storey home, a standard townhouse and a standard9 f; m8 Q# |% S8 X
condominium. The higher the reading, the more costly it is to afford a home.1 f6 L( h9 O& \, \& r( W$ T% r
For example, an Affordability reading of 50 per cent means that homeownership+ G) Z! I+ O a7 [! L" r8 t
costs, including mortgage payments, utilities and property taxes, take up 50
. L! R. F1 o V: y3 k; Z: |9 R# Xper cent of a typical household's monthly pre-tax income.
! m3 d/ U: k- U2 U0 H O/ e7 Z$ m% N! C5 A+ N: N% W9 d2 B# O! K
<<" G$ X. D: a9 m. e" y8 m9 |, c
Highlights from across Canada:. H9 V8 |5 e% `2 ^- n
9 X6 c8 V3 c6 N5 J. C
- Alberta: Since last fall, the declining Alberta economy has
# X4 }( ^ f8 G" u( v& u4 w, V intensified the downdraft on the province's housing markets, causing
3 U. ?! t; j1 g% v home resales to drop to a 12-year low at the end of 2008 and rebound
% s5 g+ Q9 k: g0 [$ e only modestly since. Affordability has been on an improving track
! i' Q& W$ H6 S- t8 k since about the middle of 2007.
7 f" P& l! ^; |& d7 H& e; i - Saskatchewan: Market activity has cooled considerably from the$ c. I: V2 z% z9 D% U/ L
frenzied pace from 2006 to early 2008 and prices have begun to' `+ d+ w+ D% ~* c
decline. Nonetheless, economic and demographic fundamentals are still3 M8 x% A, m- A% q, ]1 ]
largely supportive of the housing market and overshadow extremely" z5 [. a4 ]; A0 l9 ]
poor affordability levels.6 I" Q. S3 \9 {, B/ M/ [
- Manitoba: Manitoba's housing markets have fared much better than the$ l9 p- ^' h- X/ j. k6 n5 L
vast majority in Canada: resale activity has slowed moderately and4 @9 ]+ h1 b8 }0 _$ j0 u1 B* D
prices have either held their own or edged down just slightly.& b' b/ c& a I
Affordability has been kept out of the danger zone, helping to
+ b0 \: ?. S* p- ? minimize any downside risks.
# I; ^3 `" n: B& o - Ontario: With the recession pounding many communities, housing market
7 v. I3 N6 X5 @, [* w4 V5 I conditions have deteriorated considerably. However, the impact is
1 E9 S# h7 l$ R. o unlikely to develop into an all-out rout similar to that of the early$ E1 M! m+ E( L' A0 N, k; d
1990s. Affordability, while still causing some stress, is quickly; l) F, j) A% P. _
being restored to levels closer to long-term averages.7 A$ v" t' Q) E4 W6 o* S
- Quebec: The province's housing markets have been among the last in7 C9 u3 a2 l w/ L" B* f
Canada to yield to the weakening trend. The main sign of cooling thus7 ]4 u! ^8 G. O" r
far has been a drop in resale activity, as prices have held up
5 L" F- L ?$ j+ [0 ?5 l reasonably well. Some of the persisting market strength can be5 B1 w$ |4 R7 _' y6 k8 y n6 r
ascribed to sensible affordability levels, which had eroded only2 M0 Y- N2 m; |6 [7 G" \3 `3 S
modestly in recent years.
( M: z7 u5 R1 S" N& ? - Atlantic region: Markets have largely remained stable against the
: Y( d7 s0 v( a0 j+ {2 d; R general housing downturn, with St. John's becoming the housing hot5 F; q6 r& f1 {. j2 b3 R& r
spot in Canada and Halifax and Saint John maintaining steady upward
; R. d- t2 l" }, b0 _1 C price momentum. The region is benefiting from improving affordability
$ l# q% ?0 m$ [8 \2 p: m8 e1 C; [ following two years of deterioration.
6 X; z4 S/ f4 \* j& K2 {8 z o5 u >> |
|
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
