Vancouver’s housing affordability won’t be tamed, according to new data from RBC.
The bank reports that it’s affordability measure for Vancouver climbed 2.6 percentage points in the second quarter of 2017 to retain its title as Canada’s most unaffordable market.
RBC’s affordability measure calculates the proportion of median pre-tax household income required to service the costs of mortgage payments, property taxes and utilities based on the average market price for a detached home or condo.
New data released Friday (September 29) pegs those costs at 80.7% of household income for the Vancouver market.
For detached homes the measure is at 114.6%. Condos come in at 46.2%.
Vancouver has the highest measures recorded in Canada among all categories.
“The rise in the second quarter reflected a tightening of demand-supply conditions. Home resales picked up following a year-long correction as the dampening effect of policy measures introduced last year to cool the market — which included a 15% tax on purchases by foreign nationals — waned,” RBC’s Housing Trends and Affordability Report stated.
“With demand-supply conditions back in favour of sellers, home prices resumed an upward trajectory this spring. This means that the window for a meaningful improvement in affordability in the Vancouver area likely has closed for now.”
Toronto follows Vancouver at 75.4%, while Victoria moved up 1.8 percentage points to 58.6%.
