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. n8 g( l) t# c7 e' h0 HZT: Cost of home ownership continues to rise: RBC: o" M' i: H4 \, b& X
0 Y( }, B" w8 W& G7 @. p+ r" ECanadian Press
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% P3 n. d& ^: y. t3 s' yWednesday, 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.& j4 q ^0 |4 P/ E
8 {" E6 }7 ^# g" NSaskatchewan 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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5 P+ g* g/ v- R! k“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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# s. s' g8 t9 Q* m( t1 u“Higher house prices, mortgage rates, utilities and property taxes all combined to drive the country-wide deterioration.”! P5 \: ]5 L, U0 b9 ~. t
; V8 ~7 H* G8 ? _1 C6 X8 t5 I; J4 |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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" ~/ r0 `3 o) E( B- ^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.3 q$ x- Y. _ c- s+ _* B
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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.: O1 P( w5 E- M# m% i: M: T! q
, u$ B2 ?, ~& r5 B 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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: ~% ~& u" V1 V* l8 G3 KSaskatchewan, Alberta and B.C. saw the biggest increase in costs in the quarter.! w9 c6 k+ h1 D+ q5 i% W$ ?
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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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- T% \- O' m9 w8 H8 H* R+ XAmong 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.) h8 }" y% S" V; ?4 X# |
+ `( ?6 @# f! p" J+ u2 i) ~* U“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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