Housing becoming more affordable

In its quarterly housing affordability report, Royal Bank of Canada said the cost of home ownership moved lower for the first time in more than a year over the summer, as low mortgage rates and prices made it easier for buyers to pay for their homes.

But while homes were more affordable they were still more expensive than long-term averages in many markets, suggesting “greater than usual tensions exist for Canadian home buyers.”
“These tensions are unlikely to derail demand for housing in the near term but will act as a restraint on growth in market activity going forward,” said senior economist Robert Hogue.
It’s the first time affordability has improved since mid-2009. The RBC Housing Affordability Measure shows the proportion of median pre-tax household income required to pay the principal and interest on a mortgage, property taxes and utilities. The figures assume a 25 per cent down payment and a 25-year loan at a five-year fixed rate.
In the third quarter, a two-storey home ate up 46.3 per cent of the household income of a typical Canadian family, down from 48.9 per cent in the second quarter. The long-term average – going back to 1985 – is 43.3 per cent.
The bank said the improvement could be short lived if mortgage rates begin to move higher to reflect an improving economy.
“Higher mortgage rates will be the dominant factor raising homeownership costs over the medium term, although increasing household income as the job situation continues to strengthen in Canada will provide some positive offset,” he said. “We expect housing demand and supply to remain mostly in balance, setting the course for very modest home price increases.”
Ontario: “RBC’s Housing Affordability Measures fell between 1.3 and 2.4 percentage points, fully reversing the increase in the second quarter. Meanwhile, existing home sales ended their earlier precipitous slide by sustaining three straight gains (on a seasonally adjusted basis) from August to October. This recovery confirmed our earlier expectation that the slowdown in activity in the spring and summer largely reflected various transitory factors – including the HST and changes in mortgage lending rules – that brought demand forward to the start of this year. With the market now back in balance, the recent softness in home prices will likely prove to be a healthy recalibrating following a strong rally.”
By Steve Ladurantaye
Globe and Mail Update

Resale Housing Market Figures For October 2010

GTA REALTORS® Report Monthly Resale Housing Market Figures
TORONTO, November 3, 2010 -- Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 6,681 sales
through the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in October 2010.
This represented a 21 per cent decrease compared to the 8,476 sales recorded in October
2009. Through the first ten months of the year, sales amounted to 75,582 – up one per cent
compared to the January through October period in 2009.
“The annual change in sales and average selling prices has been quite uniform across the GTA
and by property type as the market has balanced out from record levels of sales in the second
half of 2009 and first few months of 2010,” said Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) President
Bill Johnston.
“The composition of GTA home sales does differ depending on location. Condominium
apartments accounted for 42 per cent of total sales in the City of Toronto and almost 60 per cent
of sales in TREB’s central districts,” Johnston continued. “In regions surrounding the City of
Toronto, in contrast, low rise home types accounted for almost 90 per cent of transactions.”
The average price for October transactions was $443,729 – up five per cent compared to the
average of $423,559 reported in October 2009. The average selling price through the first nine
months of the year was $430,802.
“The average selling price in the GTA has continued to grow relative to 2009 because home
ownership has remained affordable,” said Jason Mercer, the Toronto Real Estate Board’s
Senior Manager of Market Analysis. “A household earning the average income in the GTA can
comfortably afford the mortgage payments associated with the purchase of an average priced
home.”
“The outlook for mortgage rates and income growth over the next year is favorable. The
average home selling price could increase moderately next year and remain affordable for the
average GTA household,” continued Mercer.