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Stretched affordability conditions continued to deteriorate in Toronto
and Vancouver, while the rest of the country remained stable at fairly
neutral levels
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Home resales in Canada poised for one of their strongest years on record
in 2015
TORONTO, Aug. 31, 2015 /CNW/ - With the exception of Toronto and
Vancouver, where the bar to own a home at current prices was set to
multi-year highs, housing affordability remained fairly stable across
Canada in the second quarter of 2015, according to the latest Housing Trends and Affordability Report issued today by RBC Economics Research.
While trends in the national affordability measures have been fairly
flat since 2010, RBC reports that Toronto and Vancouver continued to
experience strong housing price increases - particularly for single
detached homes - in the second quarter, further widening the rift
between these two markets and the rest of Canada.
"The Toronto and Vancouver markets really stand out because of their
elevated and rapidly rising prices, and they are the main factors
contributing to further modest erosion in affordability overall in
Canada," said Craig Wright, senior vice-president and chief economist,
RBC. "Outside of Toronto and Vancouver, affordability levels are close
to, or slightly better than, long-term averages, which suggests that
housing affordability remains fairly neutral in most of Canada with
limited signs of undue stress being exerted on homebuyers."
Contrasting regional affordability trends are expected to continue in
the near term. RBC says that affordability is likely to deteriorate
further in Toronto and Vancouver in the period ahead due to upward
price pressure being sustained by tight demand-supply conditions. As
for the rest of the country, generally balanced supply demand
conditions point to comparatively slower-rising home prices and
steadier affordability.
"A significant rise in interest rates could change this two-tiered
picture by negatively affecting affordability across all regions in
Canada, and this could pose a risk for the entire housing market,"
Wright added. "However, we expect policy interest rates to remain low
in the coming year. This suggests that any near-term risk would stem
from weakness in the labour market which has fortunately been holding
up well to date."
Canada's housing market on track for one of its best years on record
Despite the plunge in oil prices hitting Canada's economy negatively and
a spike in condominium completions, RBC anticipates that Canada's
housing market will post one of its best years on record in 2015. RBC
expects home resales across the country to rise by 5.0 per cent to
505,400 units, thanks in large part to solid gains in British Colombia,
Ontario and to a lesser extent, Quebec. Historically low interest rates
continue to provide substantial stimulus for housing demand at this
point in time.
RBC projects home prices to rise by 4.6 per cent in Canada in 2015,
nearly unchanged from a rate of 4.8 per cent recorded in 2014. RBC's
measures are still quite close to their long-term averages, suggesting
that current conditions are within historical norms.
The RBC Housing Affordability measure captures the proportion of pre-tax
household income that would be needed to service the cost of owning a
specific category of home at current market value (an increase in the
measure represents a deterioration in affordability). During Q2 2015,
national affordability measures rose by 0.7 percentage points to 43.3
per cent for bungalows and by 0.4 percentage points to 48.3 per cent
for two-storey homes. The measure for condominiums remained unchanged
at 27.1 per cent.
RBC's housing affordability measure for the benchmark detached bungalow
in Canada's largest cities in Q2 2015 is as follows: Vancouver 88.6 (up
3.0 percentage points from Q1 2015); Toronto 59.4 (up 2.1 percentage
points); Montreal 36.0 (down 1.2 percentage points); Ottawa 35.4
(unchanged); Calgary 32.4 (down 0.4 percentage points); Edmonton 32.5
(down 0.4 percentage points).
The RBC Housing Affordability measure, which has been compiled since
1985, is based on the calculated costs of owning a detached bungalow (a
reasonable property benchmark for the housing market in Canada) at
market value. Alternative housing types are also presented, including a
standard two-storey home and a standard condominium apartment. The
higher the reading, the more difficult it is to afford a home at market
values. For example, an affordability reading of 50 per cent means that
home ownership costs, including mortgage payments, utilities and
property taxes, would take up 50 per cent of a typical household's
monthly pre-tax income.
It is important to note that RBC's measure is designed to gauge
ownership costs that would be associated if an average household were
to buy a home at present market values and interest rates. It is not an
observation of the costs actually incurred by current owners, the vast
majority of whom have bought in the past at significantly different
values than those prevailing in the latest period.
Highlights from across Canada:
British Columbia: Vancouver skews provincial affordability
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Rapid home price increases in Vancouver significantly impacted housing
affordability in British Colombia in the second quarter. RBC's measures
for the province rose more than any other province, up 2.5 percentage
points for two-storey homes, 2.1 percentage points for bungalows, and
0.4 percentage points for condominiums.
Alberta: Market settling down with support from affordable conditions
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Following the plunge in oil prices in the first quarter of 2015,
Alberta's housing market settled down in the second quarter. RBC's
measures for the province fell by 0.5 percentage points for two-storey
homes, 0.1 percentage points for bungalows, and inched higher by 0.2
percentage points for condominiums.
Saskatchewan: Signs of market recovery
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Signs of recovery in the home resale market were apparent in the second
quarter, although resale activity remained far below levels in 2014.
RBC's measures increased by 0.8 percentage points for both bungalows
and two-storey homes, while the measure for condominiums decreased by
0.2 percentage points.
Manitoba: Affordability was a mixed bag
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Owning a bungalow or condominium became less affordable in Q2, while
owning a two-story home became more affordable. RBC's measures rose
modestly for both bungalows and condominiums at 0.7 percentage points,
while the measure for two-storey homes fell by 0.5 percentage points.
Ontario: Affordability picture continues to be split
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Owning a single-detached home at market prices in the province has
become less and less affordable, while owning a condominium appears to
be within reach. RBC's measures showed further deterioration for
bungalows (rising by 1.1 percentage points) and two-storey homes (up
0.7 percentage points), while condominiums remain fairly steady (down
only 0.1 percentage points).
Quebec: Improving affordability trends persist
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Housing affordability continued to improve in Quebec in Q2. RBC's
affordability measures fell in all three categories for the third
consecutive quarter and by some of the largest margins across all the
provinces. Two-storey homes fell by 1.1 percentage points, bungalows
fell by 0.9 percentage points, and condominiums decreased by 0.5
percentage points.
Atlantic Canada: Soft demand-supply conditions despite favourable affordability
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Softness in the housing market drove homeownership costs down in Q2.
RBC's affordability measures fell across all categories (between 0.3
and 0.7 percentage points), adding to the continuous decline registered
since late 2013.
The full RBC Housing Trends and Affordability report is available online as of 8:00 a.m. ET today.
SOURCE RBC
