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$ p! R! n" C4 k; ?7 _ZT: Cost of home ownership continues to rise: RBC+ A# x% G+ Y& i% m' X
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Canadian Press
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- e# p$ A- ^/ J; m$ g1 ^9 ~Wednesday, 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.1 m+ s. x3 }4 A
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Saskatchewan 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.0 K$ a2 p, Z* k
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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.
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4 ^/ U t. a7 f1 y5 J$ ~2 c9 s“Higher house prices, mortgage rates, utilities and property taxes all combined to drive the country-wide deterioration.”. l- y0 e% t: f+ @ J
, p: @2 n* n1 t9 NThe 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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6 B+ L3 [% T5 Y+ s6 G, ZA 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.
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! J( {; A9 F* f1 G& D5 OSaskatchewan, Alberta and B.C. saw the biggest increase in costs in the quarter.
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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.# [) s/ C) e: L+ T: k- B
# R5 N' {( n% r3 Q# i0 PAmong 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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4 j ?4 H: [9 @; |' x$ d. _% `! i7 P“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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