Regina is still the most affordable major city in the country when it comes to buying a house but it is also the only one that saw housing affordability deteriorate in the second quarter of the year.
That information is contained in the latest RBC Royal Bank Housing Affordability report. It says the housing market across the country is cooling with prices beginning to fall with the exception of Regina where affordability decreased by a third of a point.
The bank attributes the rise to tight inventories which has buyers bidding up prices. It also cautions that affordability will continue to deteriorate in Regina unless the supply equation is rectified.
Nonetheless, it still takes only 26-percent of the average income to buy the average house in Regina which is still the lowest in Canada.
In Saskatoon it takes 31-percent of the average income to buy the average home, a situation the bank says will likely be sustained as strong population growth is fueling demand. In Vancouver, it now takes only 82-percent of the average income to buy the average house.
