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% i% I6 w: R3 TZT: Cost of home ownership continues to rise: RBC* C e1 M8 j* I& X7 B# I" g/ {
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Canadian Press3 n- F& H0 Y$ l: J$ H
) t" z, P# a! g1 u' [/ {5 KWednesday, September 12, 2007
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1 x) }" T% h4 ~; ?8 L. N/ ~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.
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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." Q9 N" Z+ n) S
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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.6 |& J% m ]6 y
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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 home- S5 q4 P9 z2 U/ Z7 K7 z) [/ j7 {
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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.: }& K; u/ P8 M) w8 ?
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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.
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' V4 L6 a% l# j' Z. C7 |A standard two-storey home was 46 per cent, up from 44 per cent in the first three months of the year.6 B1 O6 g" g- L/ F$ n0 o+ H, v
7 D* M" u" [/ J# i- n$ R1 ISaskatchewan, Alberta and B.C. saw the biggest increase in costs in the quarter./ f! V+ {3 u. [0 J
* o9 c5 e. T3 a. m3 N1 o% S7 r$ gAffordability 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.% C; q" D" Q; W& E& R& b9 j
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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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$ S* \5 n' |. D: 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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