Vancouver Housing not Affordable According to RBC

Globe and Mail

Canada cities offer reasonably affordable housing…Vancouver is at risk of a downturn. See all stories on this topic »

Victorians spending more than half of their income on home ownership costs

Times Colonist- The cost of owning a single-family bungalow in Greater Victoria climbed for the fifth consecutive quarter, says a new housing affordability report from the Royal Bank of Canada.

According to RBC Economics, ownership costs — the proportion of median pre-tax household income required to service the cost of mortgage payments, property taxes and utilities — for a single-family bungalow in this city in the second quarter hit 50.5 per cent of household income. That was considerably above the national average of 42.9 per cent…

Victorians spending more than half of their income on home ownership costs

Home ownership costs continuing to climb despite slowing activity: RBC

Ottawa Citizen- The cost of owning a home in Canada rose for the fourth consecutive quarter despite the slowdown in the resale market, according to a housing report released Monday by RBC Economics Research.

"Higher mortgage rates in tandem with a further appreciation in home prices boosted the monthly costs associated with carrying a mortgage on a typical home," said RBC senior economist Robert Hogue. "This extended the deteriorating trend in affordability since the middle of last year."

But despite the downturn, he said affordability remained "within a safe range…”

Home ownership costs continuing to climb despite slowing activity: RBC

Household worth rebounds after recession

Times Colonist- Rising stocks and home prices have helped restore almost all of the value Canadians lost in household net worth during the economic downturn.

Household net worth rose 1.3%, or by $74-billion, to $6-trillion, as the growth in the value of assets, particularly equities and residential real estate, exceeded the increase in liabilities, Statistics Canada reported Monday.

“This marks the fourth consecutive quarterly improvement in household net worth and reflects a 96 per cent recovery off the net worth lost during the recent economic downturn,” David Onyett-Jeffries, economist at RBC Economics Research, wrote in an analysis.

“The increase of household net worth continues to repair the cumulative $552-billion decline.”

Household debt has also risen as low interest rates have encouraged Canadians to increase borrowings, but that has led to strengthening in demand and asset prices, particularly housing, said Mr. Onyett-Jeffries…

Household worth rebounds after recession

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