 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
British Columbia's housing affordability notably improved but still has far to go, says RBC
! S, A" F/ ^' s9 U* T TORONTO, April 16 /CNW/ - British Columbia's housing markets are in the
: e" I- t* s- K. A/ tmiddle of a significant correction that is partly reversing the extensive
* M/ K! U& ~) H- u0 ~: I; Tgains of recent years and which is helping restore affordability conditions,
0 [5 R7 C% r; _according to the latest housing report released today by RBC Economics.
4 l: ]) g$ r/ R( p! z# } "The province's housing markets remain under heavy downward pressure,"
X3 i% y! n9 c* R. ]1 J! rsaid Robert Hogue, senior economist, RBC. "While housing affordability is U. m/ I1 h* P9 ^; |
improving as the correction process runs its course. RBC's affordability( {) n# V( n- K5 G; R
measures for the province are still at levels far off historical averages."0 t, \& L7 ?; P& [$ H
RBC notes that the sharp rise in unemployment since last summer is
" U( U Y" q7 Z* Z# Iworrying households in the province and weighing down demand for housing,
/ J+ n: y2 x' f+ D3 zwhich runs well short of available supply. Such weak market conditions have
' r$ C) I# U8 Fsustained the declining trend in prices for both existing and new homes.1 ^+ \- R7 w3 u( G
The RBC Affordability measure for British Columbia, which captures the
. m/ Q# o4 n3 S$ ]5 V- nproportion of pre-tax household income needed to service the costs of owning a
$ L6 H& @. k0 a* W- C% ]9 chome, improved across all housing segments in the last quarter of 2008.4 _+ V% J& i. Z
Affordability of detached bungalows in the province moved to 66 per cent, the2 n3 A1 I( a- z x* l
standard townhouse to 52.5 per cent, the standard condo to 36.7 per cent, and
/ I+ D* P) ~' g' gthe standard two-story home to 73.7 per cent.
k' W6 N1 L- [! ^9 c According to the report, there are signs that the B.C. housing markets
: f8 ^) [5 E( r" {may be stabilizing as sales of existing homes appear to have bottomed out in
/ N" |! F, v O9 p" S8 w Q {the closing months of 2008 and the first two in 2009 - although at6 r+ b+ G9 _/ {" w
historically depressed levels.
$ o8 l6 D( c) j: @5 K Despite sharply declining house prices and lower mortgage rates, the cost3 O) Q1 }2 C; E% T
of homeownership in Vancouver is still the highest in the country. House: B/ c/ J: ]2 k0 Q D
prices continue to rapidly decline and pricing power remains firmly in the
. Z% a4 N) h; K8 w0 d7 {hands of buyers with the sales-to-new listings ratio at historical lows. "This
. Y/ Q" ?( S9 N: X& x5 D; _enormous imbalance suggests that prices will likely further correct in the) ?$ `( k3 o7 c6 r" b& K
months ahead," added Hogue.% A$ A; N5 t3 h1 F7 |
RBC's Affordability measure for a detached bungalow for Canada's largest) `$ \& Y+ c& T5 v( U" P) ]& p
cities is as follows: Vancouver 70.3 per cent, Toronto 51.3 per cent, Calgary
7 `9 ?# u# d1 [- `! A" X42.7 per cent, Ottawa 42.7 and Montreal 39.4 per cent.
- s/ p" _$ u# K$ @& q. }0 Y The report also looked at mortgage carrying costs relative to incomes for6 w& B% J8 s' d9 W
a broader sampling of cities across the country, including Victoria. For these- ^$ l9 L* W% J& K( A* A1 \/ X
cities, RBC has used a narrower measure of housing affordability that only
: B' c' u8 i( M6 D7 n" X) K5 R3 stakes mortgage payments relative to income into account.: p! t+ y$ d I! p2 {/ `: W
The Housing Affordability measure, which RBC has compiled since 1985, is, n3 C5 c7 m: s& {% c; Y
based on the costs of owning a detached bungalow, a reasonable property$ D7 ~& c0 n Q: F
benchmark for the housing market. Alternative housing types are also presented
! ~9 T2 v; Q, t0 ]) q, [including a standard two-storey home, a standard townhouse and a standard
. }# E; e- ]& q a9 \condominium. The higher the reading, the more costly it is to afford a home.1 D) o- E! s. C! f# ?+ x
For example, an Affordability reading of 50 per cent means that homeownership
# m: q, ~* i3 {costs, including mortgage payments, utilities and property taxes, take up 50
- o! L" r8 f# Vper cent of a typical household's monthly pre-tax income.
6 B% y- ^2 j8 ~+ g; u4 p
; V, W1 ^* b; I& m+ m0 D' C2 v <<
. N, d: B5 Z. \ j$ z4 J5 y Highlights from across Canada:
7 m( u. Q9 r6 a0 `, O' V2 l) j Q2 v8 i( e! r
- Alberta: Since last fall, the declining Alberta economy has9 `: C* g" [/ R+ f( N
intensified the downdraft on the province's housing markets, causing0 c9 i% h' g# `& v+ p1 p
home resales to drop to a 12-year low at the end of 2008 and rebound9 ~; m0 f5 s6 t4 S* @$ V' d! }5 _ m
only modestly since. Affordability has been on an improving track2 \+ v: Y( D7 B5 J4 f& J$ S
since about the middle of 2007.
8 j8 I ]* ?& ]" q. H, O1 ~0 G - Saskatchewan: Market activity has cooled considerably from the
: N) Y5 k$ f0 x. q- @7 y, y frenzied pace from 2006 to early 2008 and prices have begun to
% P* T* Y' h; t decline. Nonetheless, economic and demographic fundamentals are still
/ K# y+ x( |; ?' e& Q, D% z largely supportive of the housing market and overshadow extremely
/ V% h# M: r. e* ]4 N- ]* t poor affordability levels.
% D/ J) k7 X& b% f/ Z* C$ O4 r - Manitoba: Manitoba's housing markets have fared much better than the; F' N1 ?# z# L8 ], L
vast majority in Canada: resale activity has slowed moderately and
Y! q g1 b& H1 r prices have either held their own or edged down just slightly.
9 e. x6 B0 @7 `' _) |! u o Affordability has been kept out of the danger zone, helping to
( n2 ?) ~, q1 [/ E c3 X b/ O9 P minimize any downside risks.
& I K; B7 E% N: S- o- y3 S - Ontario: With the recession pounding many communities, housing market
* L: ?- u/ W: h conditions have deteriorated considerably. However, the impact is. ]) | w9 K' }- C' Q- N
unlikely to develop into an all-out rout similar to that of the early
6 v" X% ^; C; m/ u 1990s. Affordability, while still causing some stress, is quickly- d/ d6 S; l/ w* F. x
being restored to levels closer to long-term averages.
' c4 |6 j( F* [) I9 [. S) u - Quebec: The province's housing markets have been among the last in/ x; I$ H' N) C( ?3 {
Canada to yield to the weakening trend. The main sign of cooling thus4 l1 ^1 k2 s, A) a* w* y# d1 V ~
far has been a drop in resale activity, as prices have held up
* }, O7 E' V% d) ? reasonably well. Some of the persisting market strength can be
, V+ ^( \' p( }4 j' {% r ascribed to sensible affordability levels, which had eroded only8 \+ B3 G( I: t& t
modestly in recent years.' u9 v4 [ \+ W; p1 y
- Atlantic region: Markets have largely remained stable against the
/ y6 Y: B4 x* X) \7 U4 y general housing downturn, with St. John's becoming the housing hot* S4 V* l: e' d) e0 J6 l
spot in Canada and Halifax and Saint John maintaining steady upward, {" m$ d+ ^4 E% k5 j
price momentum. The region is benefiting from improving affordability
( `# v# L" T2 B7 I following two years of deterioration.
; j( \5 e' w/ G: B8 B0 z/ v, p >> |
|
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
