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Most homes a little less affordable in Manitoba: RBC

By: Murray McNeill

Monday, Feb. 25, 2013 at 1:23 PM | Comments: 0

The demand for homes didn’t cool as much in Manitoba as in some other regions. (WINNIPEG FREE PRESS ARCHIVES)

It has become a little less affordable to own a bungalow or condominium in Manitoba, according to a new Royal Bank survey released today.

In its latest quarterly Housing Trends and Affordability Report, RBC Economics said the percentage of household income needed to own a standard detached bungalow in Manitoba climbed by 0.8 per cent to 38.1 per cent from the third to fourth quarters of 2012.

And the percentage of income needed to own a standard condo rose by 0.3 per cent to 24 per cent.

The only popular type of home where affordability didn’t deteriorate was a standard two-storey, where the affordability index remained unchanged at 38.5 pert cent, the bank added.

That was in contrast to a number of other regions on the country, such as British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario, where housing affordability improved for most types of homes in the final quarter of 2012.

It said the main reason Manitoba homeowners didn’t get much of a break is that house prices and the demand for homes didn’t cool as much here as in some other regions in the last half of 2012.

However, the bank noted Manitoba’s affordability indexes are still only slightly above the historical averages for the province, "suggesting that any affordability-related strain is likely minimal at this point."

murray.mcneill@freepress.mb.ca

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