Saskatchewan the only province to see housing affordability improve in Q1/2012: RBC
Higher home prices caused affordability to deteriorate slightly across Canada over the first quarter of 2012, according to the Royal Bank’s most recent study. Characterizing the change as “mild,” RBC notes that their measures still stand “slightly above historical averages…” with recognition that massive “regional divergences persist.”
Saskatchewan was the only province to buck the trend showing modest affordability improvements in all housing categories measured to mark the third consecutive quarterly improvement.
According to the report, “This latest easing in the measures brought affordability levels even closer to long-term averages in Saskatchewan, which implies that any undue stress being exerted on provincial homebuyers is dissipating. Very strong market activity since the fall of last year seems to corroborate this. Home resales have surged to record-high levels in the first quarter of this year in Saskatchewan. Rapid economic growth will continue to support the province’s housing market in 2012.”
Read RBC’s Housing Trends and Affordability study for May 2012.
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Norm Fisher
Royal LePage Saskatoon Real Estate
1 comment so far. We'd love to hear your thoughts.
June 3rd, 2012 at 8:25 AM
Here are some perspectives relating to: likelihood of future provinicial economic growth, present and future levels of taxation and personal income growth.
http://www.td.com/document/PDF/economics/budgets/govt_budget_20120501.pdf
Saskatchewan debt is now 4.9% of GDP, 1/10 that of Quebec, 1/8th that of Ontario, and 1/5th that of Manitoba, all recipients of equalization payments to be revised in 2014.
Long-term TD growth projections for SK are second only to Alberta for next five years.
SK average weekly wages are 3rd highest in the country, with income and sales taxes well below each of the above jurisdictions.