Quebec’s homeownership costs were pushed upward for the first time in more than a year during the third quarter of 2009 due to an invigorated housing market noted the latest quarterly housing report released on November 25th, 2009 by RBC Economics.
The RBC Affordability measure for Quebec captures the proportion of pre-tax household income needed to service the costs of owning a home rose across all four housing classes in the third quarter of 2009.
Affordability of the benchmark detached bungalow moved up to 33.5%; the standard townhouse moved up to 28.3%; the standard condo moved up to 27.8%; and the standard two storey home moved up to 40.4%.
Robert Hogue, senior economist at RBC noted in the report that the demand for housing has heated up in Quebec during the past several months, with the historically low mortgage rates bringing many families into the market.
This has helped drive property values higher in many parts of the province; however the downside is that there is an erosion of housing affordability; however levels remain close to long term averages.
According to the Affordability reading, to own a standard condo, it will be 27.8%; this means it will cost 27.8% of a typical household’s monthly pre-tax income.
Glen Chapman
Broker of Record with Club “100″ GMAC Real Estate
www.club100realestate.com
