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: K& s- _/ O0 u) ~# s! {6 |ZT: Cost of home ownership continues to rise: RBC- ?0 p! `1 A6 W7 d2 b( C2 Y
8 L; L1 P5 l% {Canadian Press- \" z! t5 U+ d- F ^
) V( W, }$ x7 L& EWednesday, 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.* q4 x# v4 b8 s3 F6 d
8 a t0 j- A# q! i/ oSaskatchewan 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.
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3 s/ m/ q: }) d* M6 f“Higher house prices, mortgage rates, utilities and property taxes all combined to drive the country-wide deterioration.”
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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* g6 t) ?* ]7 ^0 c& m8 L5 i
& s1 Y% t; T! {+ L1 q1 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.
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- V# ] \; f7 y6 dA 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." O) K$ g$ y; i/ k+ t( }9 o5 l
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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.
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Saskatchewan, Alberta and B.C. saw the biggest increase in costs in the quarter.2 G# G7 }* W/ T0 H. y
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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.
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. D' ^' ~7 X8 Q. @Among 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.
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, x9 r' s ~, n0 Q“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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