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ZT: Cost of home ownership continues to rise: RBC
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3 ^* I5 M% {' X. uCanadian Press
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Wednesday, September 12, 2007, |0 G9 T; g/ q# P# R
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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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+ M! t1 l0 v( l0 ?( MSaskatchewan 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.5 v1 p+ M Y% p3 f7 X' _* u
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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.$ S' g7 ~1 k" S8 J9 p
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“Higher house prices, mortgage rates, utilities and property taxes all combined to drive the country-wide deterioration.”
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" R% j2 }) T9 O3 Q7 B7 [+ SThe 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! U' }1 H# u3 C
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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.
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4 f1 i3 e e# O. x' O3 uA 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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' E& B4 B0 @: l) I/ \+ y: t' `& }' sSaskatchewan, Alberta and B.C. saw the biggest increase in costs in the quarter.+ ]" O( M/ r$ V1 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.! X+ X) X8 g0 q. N
8 d- J! C: y4 n: `- x# K3 d% \# e9 ]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.: V# [# J5 @) k' b; I9 c* k" a
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“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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