Source – msn.com

• “…There are still pockets of Canada where housing remains relatively affordable, says Hogue. In the prairie provinces and Atlantic Canada….Saint John, New Brunswick, stands out as a beacon of affordability. So much so that this market, the country’s most affordable, is attracting buyers from all over Canada”

Housing affordability hasn’t been this bad in Canada in 31 years — and it’s going to get worse

Pamela Heaven, June 30, 2021

….Buyers have flocked to smaller cities and towns, narrowing their price advantage over larger centres. “Since the pandemic, mortgage carrying costs have increased more as a share of household income in Windsor, Hamilton, London and Niagara than in Vancouver, Ottawa, Montreal or Toronto,” said RBC senior economist Robert Hogue.

Few markets have escaped this, with affordability declining the most in British Columbia, Ontario and Nova Scotia.

There are still pockets of Canada where housing remains relatively affordable, says Hogue. In the prairie provinces and Atlantic Canada (except Halifax) home prices have yet to exert “abnormal pressure” on buyers.

Saint John, New Brunswick, stands out as a beacon of affordability. So much so that this market, the country’s most affordable, is attracting buyers from all over Canada.

Home sales are in record territory and “demand-supply conditions are near the tightest they’ve ever been,” said Hogue.

Saint John’s measure of income needed to cover housing actually inched lower in the first quarter to 23.4%. But RBC does not expect that to last.

“Property values are heating up fast and will drive up ownership costs in the period ahead,” said Hogue.