RBC Report: Affordability Index Decline

-
RBC is reporting in the first quarter of the year that it will become more difficult for Canadians to purchase a home as the affordability index has declined. This coupled with the rising house prices, puts Canadians in a deep hole.

Now I know what you are thinking what is the affordability index anyway? The affordability index is a percentile measurement of before taxes household income that is needed to service the cost of owning a
home at current market prices. The 3 main payments include;

* Mortgage
* Utilities
* Property Taxes

This increase as it affects residents of Ontario sees an affordability index of 44.9% for bungalows and 51.0% for two storey homes.

While this all does seems bad, RBC has stated that interest rates will not be on the rise until the middle of next year. A forecast by the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation sees the average price of a home increasing to $396,000.

The biggest thing to consider now is that this index will be affecting new home buyers, and not current home owners. For new home buyers it is important to know the value of your dollar and be able to stretch it towards making the right purchase.

Not looking to have a big family? Why not a condo?



Comments

Post a Comment

ad 2

Popular posts from this blog

5 Things you need to know about Canadian Real Estate in 2018

-
Image
With the new mortgage rule at hand, Canada’s Real Estate Market will bring new challenges and opportunities for the year 2018. Here are 5 Key Facts that you need to know. 1) More local than ever To begin with, there's no such thing as a Canadian real estate market. What happens in Toronto and Vancouver’s booming housing market is quite different from that in, say, recovering areas such as Calgary and Edmonton. The momentum for each month in national home sales activity gained strength late last year, and further expected economic and job growth will boost sales activity this year despite the rising interest rate.  According to  Canadian Real Estate Association  President Andrew Peck said, "Even so, momentum for home sales differs depending on location and type." "While activity remained below year-ago levels in the GTA, the decline there was more than offset by some sizable year-over-year gains in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Vancouver Is
Read more

What are the Forces Affecting the Real Estate Market?

-
There are several opinions on which direction the real estate market will go in 2017. Whether you are planning to buy or sell in the near future it is important to look at 5 forces that will affect the Canadian real estate industry in 2017.   1. U.S. Federal Reserve’s Interest Rates Although technically Canadian and American central banks set their interest rates autonomously from each other, changes in the U.S. rates generally has a huge impact on Canadian mortgages rates. U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen raised rates by a quarter of a percentage point at the end of 2016, and has implied three more rate hikes will occur in 2017. Although it is doubtfully Yellen will take action so quickly, Canadians should expect mortgage rates to increase throughout the year. 2. Canadian Economy By and large the Canadian economy will not nose-dive if interest rates increase and the demand for homes decrease. But rising interest rates accompanied with an already weakening economy c
Read more

Five Ontario cities that are poised for huge housing boom in future years

-
Image
Toronto’s real estate market has plenty of talks regarding the expected boom of housing market over the past few months. But according to a new report, five other Ontario cities’ housing markets are going to explode in the next few years. According to the real estate research organization Real Estate Investment Network (REIN), Ottawa, Kitchener-Waterloo, Hamilton, Barrie and Brampton all have the potential to become leading housing markets in the next five years. To back up their prediction REIN measured several economic factors that might affect the growth of each market such as GDP, employment and population growth. “On January 25, an agreement was signed to redevelop LeBreton Flats, prime land close to the downtown core of Ottawa,” reads the report. “The plan includes a new LRT station and will move Ottawa’s hockey team to a new home. It is expected that the plan will have a strong positive effect on demand and values.” Other factors driving the Ottawa housing market? Ho
Read more