Call us . . . unaffordable
Sun Monday, October, 02, 2006
The Canadian Institute of Mortgage Brokers and Lenders (CIMBL) calculates housing affordability by contrasting the monthly mortgage payment for an averaged priced resale home in a given province with that region's average weekly wage -- the average Gross Debt Service ratio. By this measure housing affordability in B.C. has deteriorated more from the 1997-2002 period to 2006 than it has in any other province. For example, in the 1997-2002 period the GDS ratio for B.C. was 37.7%. In 2006 that rose to 50.5%, an increase of 12.8 percentage points.
© The Vancouver Sun 2006
1997-2002 to 2006
Source: CIMBL VANCOUVER SUN