 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
British Columbia's housing affordability notably improved but still has far to go, says RBC
4 J5 Z5 L! }1 d3 g$ T% T! | TORONTO, April 16 /CNW/ - British Columbia's housing markets are in the7 z) V4 ^) A: m5 o! Y, z
middle of a significant correction that is partly reversing the extensive
# |4 _' N. h; C% }- }. ugains of recent years and which is helping restore affordability conditions,
) h$ a$ O! j2 J8 R9 r5 Y) waccording to the latest housing report released today by RBC Economics.
3 Z' t9 g! f& T9 _$ _. `9 | "The province's housing markets remain under heavy downward pressure,"
; {1 d2 W6 U9 H$ Z: G) V: [said Robert Hogue, senior economist, RBC. "While housing affordability is- y; d; h/ ?4 @$ A
improving as the correction process runs its course. RBC's affordability G9 A5 g! y9 ~9 E% W" M& w: E
measures for the province are still at levels far off historical averages."$ w- H+ G1 ~% c( W% P
RBC notes that the sharp rise in unemployment since last summer is
$ K8 L( H1 H6 p Uworrying households in the province and weighing down demand for housing,% T% A) ?6 b5 h4 \/ L
which runs well short of available supply. Such weak market conditions have7 j0 g3 L2 o& Z" `9 h1 g
sustained the declining trend in prices for both existing and new homes.4 Z1 d# _( P# i& [
The RBC Affordability measure for British Columbia, which captures the
+ ?! ]* Q' `& K4 \proportion of pre-tax household income needed to service the costs of owning a; @) e* S: e0 {& u4 m2 c
home, improved across all housing segments in the last quarter of 2008." ^0 C6 F( Q4 V3 ?5 l
Affordability of detached bungalows in the province moved to 66 per cent, the
, c6 W4 m; q7 T3 dstandard townhouse to 52.5 per cent, the standard condo to 36.7 per cent, and
8 q% v: u; _( s6 T( F1 Hthe standard two-story home to 73.7 per cent. {( A" d! \( |
According to the report, there are signs that the B.C. housing markets* _: K/ C+ A0 T+ a u
may be stabilizing as sales of existing homes appear to have bottomed out in
7 a9 _ _! u: {. S# _- y7 hthe closing months of 2008 and the first two in 2009 - although at
- U9 i' |; u6 ]1 \/ e: Xhistorically depressed levels.
2 q- K1 o0 W" O9 a Despite sharply declining house prices and lower mortgage rates, the cost c4 n9 K: m7 l) m3 ]0 o
of homeownership in Vancouver is still the highest in the country. House
0 r" i% i* n/ }& I' v5 @* Gprices continue to rapidly decline and pricing power remains firmly in the
( ~1 \9 [! ]6 [4 {* y" ~hands of buyers with the sales-to-new listings ratio at historical lows. "This; ^$ m# x9 Y4 o0 S5 L- ]" W3 A
enormous imbalance suggests that prices will likely further correct in the
6 |- L: u9 Q6 r2 A5 F, rmonths ahead," added Hogue.
6 ]3 m; R. N, K0 M RBC's Affordability measure for a detached bungalow for Canada's largest4 C5 K- z$ x. m: Q) H2 K- z8 i
cities is as follows: Vancouver 70.3 per cent, Toronto 51.3 per cent, Calgary2 J' y4 Z( y* W" [0 F* b, h I
42.7 per cent, Ottawa 42.7 and Montreal 39.4 per cent.4 I8 ]5 L4 Q/ O6 ^
The report also looked at mortgage carrying costs relative to incomes for, S/ F- \$ h6 p" T- [
a broader sampling of cities across the country, including Victoria. For these
3 C$ N" {, T; Bcities, RBC has used a narrower measure of housing affordability that only
3 G! u% m' b* A0 E, v. Mtakes mortgage payments relative to income into account.- z# l% T. h& G
The Housing Affordability measure, which RBC has compiled since 1985, is
/ W) r) G; |2 q' L- ^based on the costs of owning a detached bungalow, a reasonable property6 H; [/ R, F2 B7 O; R# N) ^
benchmark for the housing market. Alternative housing types are also presented
6 ~7 v1 b3 D. q6 d: Tincluding a standard two-storey home, a standard townhouse and a standard
6 a* L7 v5 R# K! d$ vcondominium. The higher the reading, the more costly it is to afford a home.
" n- M5 Z+ S# |% {) xFor example, an Affordability reading of 50 per cent means that homeownership( S* x/ B# B4 r9 |' J
costs, including mortgage payments, utilities and property taxes, take up 504 U9 w$ o! \* g) p6 x3 R$ c e# z: h7 ]
per cent of a typical household's monthly pre-tax income.
& F# h5 A6 M( d" \5 c% X! i7 Z4 E3 i2 Q+ @
<<
7 Y# B. g- l; J/ e9 j Highlights from across Canada:
1 e8 a3 }- p: L' j8 O- ^6 g" T
8 S5 q: V- F7 M: q0 X - Alberta: Since last fall, the declining Alberta economy has
5 m* ^" [: m' P( t8 W7 F intensified the downdraft on the province's housing markets, causing" g9 D9 T, ?" r# @
home resales to drop to a 12-year low at the end of 2008 and rebound
' U& X. A; i6 U- U% M' D only modestly since. Affordability has been on an improving track% t3 [" G% \; e `6 I9 ?7 S8 c
since about the middle of 2007.
1 x2 W4 r# o* V+ f- u8 s - Saskatchewan: Market activity has cooled considerably from the& t$ N& t8 q( j1 s# t
frenzied pace from 2006 to early 2008 and prices have begun to
/ b @- n! G# T$ H decline. Nonetheless, economic and demographic fundamentals are still" r$ o L8 `9 s- v8 x$ ]
largely supportive of the housing market and overshadow extremely
$ w( Q4 g9 ~+ o8 R poor affordability levels.
8 O. I! ^7 x% I7 m* u- _. [/ K - Manitoba: Manitoba's housing markets have fared much better than the2 T- j d5 G9 J! J( H
vast majority in Canada: resale activity has slowed moderately and
: n5 Z# a- a1 M; A prices have either held their own or edged down just slightly.
( o# i- Y4 I9 x, c2 z Affordability has been kept out of the danger zone, helping to
, d. f! O: m$ T& H minimize any downside risks.8 t' v: j$ {! f
- Ontario: With the recession pounding many communities, housing market9 n# I) @# I. `2 Q% H0 F
conditions have deteriorated considerably. However, the impact is7 f% z1 d. s: u( I/ P" f
unlikely to develop into an all-out rout similar to that of the early+ Q2 c' b& \4 `1 H% V# j0 [& |
1990s. Affordability, while still causing some stress, is quickly! o# j& `8 [. o) I* u
being restored to levels closer to long-term averages.
' o" ?, m$ G! ]& i! Y$ T3 S! b - Quebec: The province's housing markets have been among the last in
% B* H+ f* P% `* W Canada to yield to the weakening trend. The main sign of cooling thus% w" u' J& m6 u, j: Q' Q B. m
far has been a drop in resale activity, as prices have held up# c0 I$ n: C1 S8 W. ^
reasonably well. Some of the persisting market strength can be& B, ?* u o! x# W
ascribed to sensible affordability levels, which had eroded only
5 q2 Y7 y7 b: V4 ` [$ u: t modestly in recent years.$ X2 C6 T# r' z8 j' d3 b' q% x
- Atlantic region: Markets have largely remained stable against the" \, g/ G- ^+ O: C" @5 [
general housing downturn, with St. John's becoming the housing hot: k; v8 l% y9 v0 s0 L
spot in Canada and Halifax and Saint John maintaining steady upward+ o2 o- S5 X+ c: [% e2 C2 ^) F
price momentum. The region is benefiting from improving affordability7 w- O" S4 {( `: d9 _5 C# e* U7 D
following two years of deterioration.$ ~+ B2 n3 D: d+ b
>> |
|
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
