Things are about to improve. That’s the sentiment delivered by the latest RBC Royal Bank housing Affordability Index.
The bank says the worst is probably behind us as the impact of higher interest rates is now settling in. It tracks all the major urban markets in Canada and provides a quarterly snapshot of income levels in those communities compared to home prices.
One of the primary trends they’ve been monitoring is how interest rates have consistently made things less affordable which is also impacting sellers as falling demand reduces prices.
But nothing is like their assessment of the Vancouver market. They’ve never seen anything like it and it now takes 98 per cent of the average income to buy the average house in that city.
The index in Saskatoon is 34 per cent after seven consecutives reductions in affordability but it is still one of the most attractive in the country as small price decreases will improve affordability down the road.
In Regina, which has the best affordability index in the nation at 29 per cent, recent price softness is a welcomed sign for buyers.
