Chris inspired me to put this together with his previous post. Here is the latest data that REIN Members look at when we study a real estate market.
RBC’s Affordability Index measures the amount of pre-tax income that goes towards housing for the average person in the region it’s studying.
As Don frequently notes there are serious problems in BC because Canadian’s generally get taxed about 50% of their income (so this means that they have to opt for longer amortization mortgages to afford homes). Something I would like to explore is how much foreign ownership is in Vancouver and the impacts on Vancouver affordability. Please email me ([email protected]) if you have any ideas on how I can track this.
Going to the city level Vancouver is in bubble central and Toronto may experience problems.
Published by the Conference Board of Canada the economic structure of an economy is very important. Economic diversity tells us how the city can deal with shocks to the economy. Surprisingly Edmonton is pretty diverse despite it’s perception of an oil and gas town.
Changes in the average wage is important to look at simply because if wages are going up, more people will be able to afford real estate. This an average increase, so be careful with the numbers. Case in point Halifax wages were at a $690/week last January compared to Toronto were wages were $828/week
Brian Persaud from Real Experts Inc has been a REIN member since 2005 and currently owns property across Ontario, Alberta and Florida.
