TORONTO - A report by RBC Economics says housing affordability continued to decline in Toronto and Vancouver, while conditions for homebuyers improved in Alberta during the first quarter of the year as lower oil prices caused the real estate market to soften.
RBC says mortgage rate cuts improved the affordability of homes in many Canadian housing markets where prices didn't accelerate too rapidly.
That offset rapid price growth in Toronto and Vancouver, leaving national affordability levels relatively flat.
RBC says demand in softer markets such as Montreal and Ottawa began to pick up.
The RBC Housing Affordability study measures the proportion of household income that is needed to service the costs of owning a home at current market values.
On a national level, RBC says affordability edged 0.3 percentage points lower for condos to 27.1 per cent, while for detached homes it declined 0.2 percentage points to 47.9 per cent.
