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ZT: Cost of home ownership continues to rise: RBC0 V2 f0 x5 L0 e# m, }7 O& n$ q/ d
" W4 l. Y- u: O9 G/ c- a: U: o9 }Canadian Press
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Wednesday, September 12, 2007( X2 s& t P0 `- Q, {% W
7 k9 B( |) i( x. T4 a$ V JTORONTO — 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.& m$ {) K8 `3 w
/ h$ {: ^% ?- ]9 {6 OSaskatchewan 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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“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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O5 m- Z) Q# w; c6 J6 W# V“Higher house prices, mortgage rates, utilities and property taxes all combined to drive the country-wide deterioration.”* @3 n+ G# \& \/ [) p6 A7 m- S
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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 home* x ?' ]) T: L% w8 Y
+ x3 h1 @/ x; n5 K; h% x% QThe 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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' Q9 O* ]$ v3 k" uA 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.1 O* c% P7 p3 C7 p) o8 g- w
& A$ q- l3 J& \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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5 V) \; X' Z3 e: s9 C2 ESaskatchewan, Alberta and B.C. saw the biggest increase in costs in the quarter., E+ }6 r" _" a6 }; ?0 i5 G
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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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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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: A* o G+ J/ a" h/ T; k# q0 ~“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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