Average person can’t buy Vancouver home: Survey
Posted August 22, 2011 7:50 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Soaring home prices in Vancouver are putting the dream of owning real estate further out of reach. A new report from RBC says the city is by far the most expensive market for homes and condos in the entire country.
RBC’s affordability measures for BC rose between 1.0 and 5.7 per cent in the second quarter (an increase in the index represents a loss of affordability). The increases here were among the highest in the country.
“Such poor affordability almost entirely reflects the sky-high market valuations in the Vancouver area. We expect this to weigh on housing demand and pressure prices downward in the coming year,” says Robert Hogue, senior economist with RBC.
The cost of owning a bungalow in Vancouver, which includes mortgage payments, utilities, and property taxes, now represents more than 70 per cent of the average household income. The cost of owning and maintaining a condo is just under 37 per cent of that income benchmark.
The RBC report says buyers are being forced out of the Vancouver market because of rising prices. It also says the market could see a significant price-correction in the future, but doesn’t predict when that might happen.
