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8 y2 A3 N) i5 y+ K' bZT: Cost of home ownership continues to rise: RBC
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3 h. ^/ k- L8 [+ j# ICanadian Press( m8 W6 N' q7 e; B* C
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Wednesday, September 12, 2007
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# w0 E) X& F4 |0 ?* fTORONTO — 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.# ]( i. I/ k( t* V% x- 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.7 T1 M$ ]% K. z" E; g. c
5 n9 C: ?9 M" \: h3 S0 C3 M“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.# R1 W! D0 t8 I/ F0 _8 [
k! Z/ S$ o4 h5 i! b. z“Higher house prices, mortgage rates, utilities and property taxes all combined to drive the country-wide deterioration.”
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) A# g2 x4 f D& tThe 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/ C; }4 J+ Q$ H% F) r
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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.0 [) ]; ^3 M( ^, F" g; 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.3 j, q# k& ^) S5 q. g
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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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Saskatchewan, Alberta and B.C. saw the biggest increase in costs in the quarter.
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9 ^, t t6 J% @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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. R; o, A4 ]7 M8 M5 e& k+ k0 z8 E5 K( Z“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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