'Most of the city is evacuating': Gridlock on Alberta highway after evacuation order in Fort McMurray
Four Fort McMurray neighbourhoods were ordered to evacuate on Tuesday as a wildfire gets closer to the city.
Canada’s housing market saw the largest improvement in affordability in nearly four years in the first quarter of 2023, according to a report from economists at the National Bank of Canada.
The report analyzes housing affordability in major census metropolitan areas, factoring in the prices of condos and other dwellings, as well as the real estate market as a whole.
It measures affordability by tracking the number of months a median-income household will need to save for the minimum down payment of an average-priced home, if they were to save 10 per cent of their income before tax.
The report states that housing affordability improved across the board in Canada’s 10 major census metropolitan areas in the first quarter — the first time this has happened in all markets in two and a half years.
The largest improvements occurred in Vancouver, which remains the least affordable Canadian city for buying a home, Hamilton and Toronto.
By contrast, Calgary, Edmonton, and Quebec saw the smallest increases in improvement, the report notes.
The average mortgage payment as a percentage of income (MPPI) registered at 60.9 per cent in the first quarter of 2023, down 3.2 points from the previous quarter and 5.4 points from the second quarter of 2022, when Canada’s housing market reached its most unaffordable level in more than 30 years.
The economists note that while the MPPI improved, it remains elevated and has not counteracted the huge rise in unaffordability observed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, it states that its benchmark five-year fixed rate mortgage used to calculate affordability declined 14 basis points.
Restrictive interest rates, a decrease in home prices and rising incomes were factors that led to the improvement in housing affordability, the report notes.
Looking ahead, National Bank says it’s expecting to see a “slight easing of pressure” on interest rates in the second quarter of 2023.
“That said, a stabilization in home prices is likely given the pickup in activity with sales increasing while listings have moderated,” the report’s authors state.
“However, we have doubts as to whether this price rise will be sustained, given restrictive monetary policy which is contributing to maintaining affordability at a challenging level.”
Four Fort McMurray neighbourhoods were ordered to evacuate on Tuesday as a wildfire gets closer to the city.
Saskatchewan RCMP have revealed that a historic sexual assault investigation has led to the discovery of alleged crimes against children dating back to 2005.
Less than a week after two public sculptures featuring a livestream between Dublin, Ireland, and New York City debuted, 'inappropriate behaviour' in real-time interactions between people in the two cities has prompted a temporary shutdown.
The Edmonton Oilers will start Calvin Pickard in net Tuesday for Game 4 of their playoff series with the Vancouver Canucks.
The Biden administration has told key lawmakers it is sending a new package of more than US$1 billion in arms and ammunition to Israel, two congressional aides said Tuesday.
King Charles III has unveiled the first portrait of the monarch completed since he assumed the throne, a vivid image that depicts him in the bright red uniform of the Welsh Guards against a background of similar hues.
The annual list of Canada's top restaurants in the country was just released and here are the places that made the 2024 cut.
The province has released more information on its plan to break up Alberta Health Services and replace it with four sector-based health agencies.
Canadian LifeLabs customers who filed an application for a class-action settlement began receiving their payments this week, though at a much lower amount than initially expected.
A team is ready to help an entangled North Atlantic right whale in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
A $200 reward is being offered by a North Vancouver family for the safe return of their beloved chicken, Snowflake.
Two daughters and a mother were reunited online 40 years later thanks to a DNA kit and a Zoom connection despite living on three separate continents and speaking different languages.
Mother's Day can be a difficult occasion for those who have lost or are estranged from their mom.
YES Theatre Young Company opened its acclaimed kids’ show, One Small Step, at Sudbury Theatre Centre on Saturday.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
The threat of zebra mussels has prompted the federal government to temporarily ban watercraft from a Manitoba lake popular with tourists.