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7 h# g( ^/ {: y0 s+ E! P5 A7 PZT: Cost of home ownership continues to rise: RBC
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9 V6 ~& ~: i! }2 C0 A5 ^Canadian Press
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' Z( ?6 t0 @3 kWednesday, September 12, 2007* u2 Q0 i8 A, w: t. n- I& T" y
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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.. K' g, K! v) E$ V! X" l
& C; z5 @6 ]: i# h( iSaskatchewan 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 [1 w. b7 o, o) ?& Z7 _; P5 W
9 b; W! T2 T* \3 f“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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“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 home1 x+ ~, z! H$ z# s- V C# ~: C
$ L8 {! q7 V t# [" i2 |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.% w) l# e. W8 y
]1 X5 G+ ~9 A% EA 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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A standard two-storey home was 46 per cent, up from 44 per cent in the first three months of the year.! h2 u+ U3 N# e
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Saskatchewan, Alberta and B.C. saw the biggest increase in costs in the quarter.( F0 A/ g t- ]2 V/ |
! r+ @- w, l g7 |9 x3 }+ h3 B; {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.1 s z7 |- U% R7 u& R
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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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“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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