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8 E5 B) h3 W: Y1 r5 D# @( e3 nZT: Cost of home ownership continues to rise: RBC" Q. ?8 D. b- G% l
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Canadian Press9 {$ [5 a7 I, ~. U9 H
( a s! f$ L$ Z Q3 CWednesday, September 12, 2007' b ^3 a1 Y$ E* a
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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.
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! s! o+ U2 l; SSaskatchewan 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.- Y- H- E! c2 [* L/ V
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“Higher house prices, mortgage rates, utilities and property taxes all combined to drive the country-wide deterioration.”; G6 {$ S& e+ w3 x" l- [- T
/ k0 U6 G* V, Z8 Y) {9 T! P A$ \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
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The 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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A 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., m- d. n; U3 Q9 b4 e
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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.' l% P6 v+ |5 R
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Saskatchewan, Alberta and B.C. saw the biggest increase in costs in the quarter.- w2 _. \# V9 D: |- f
+ ^) \2 F+ k# U YAffordability 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.- j& ]% N3 n+ G% D- D" T
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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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* r6 d8 D1 A9 [7 s( W0 x2 x“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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