A study surveying housing affordability in the Capital region offers some familiar findings, which nonetheless come with a catch B次元官网网址� they do not say anything about the largest community in the region: Saanich.

The study prepared by Van City calculates affordability by correlating median sale prices with the median household income for the larger metropolitan area in which the municipalities lie in calculating the gross debt service ratio (GDS).

It represents the percentage of a householdB次元官网网址檚 gross monthly income required to cover mortgage costs, property taxes and maintenance such as strata fees and heating.

The study considered 30 communities spread across four Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs): Victoria, Vancouver, as well as Abbotsford-Mission and Chilliwack.

Communities surveyed in the Capital region were: Victoria, Central Saanich, North Saanich, Oak Bay, Sidney, Sooke and Esquimalt. Saanich B次元官网网址� the largest community on Vancouver Island with a population of nearly 115,000 and one of the largest stand-alone municipalities in the province B次元官网网址� did not make the cut.

This choice is even more puzzling in light of the reportB次元官网网址檚 headline: B次元官网网址淕rowing unaffordability hits suburbs hardest.B次元官网网址�

In other words, the report identifies suburbs as one of the areas where housing affordability is a concern without describing the most important suburb outside the City of Victoria proper.

Susan Mohammad, a spokesperson for Van City, acknowledged the oversight. B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e looked into the question and we had to be a bit selective in creating a representative list to highlight trends, which is why there are gaps like the one you mentioned,B次元官网网址� she said.

Turning to the findings, they confirm familiar trends. The report notes that detached homes in Victoria absorb 43 per cent of gross monthly income, whereas apartments absorb 20 per cent. Overall, the typical Victoria residence requires 26 of household income.

The report identifies Oak Bay as the least affordable of the municipalities in the Capital region. B次元官网网址淏uyers of detached homes must consider paying 69 per cent of household income,B次元官网网址� it read. Attached homes require 37 per cent of household income, while apartments have seen the B次元官网网址渓east pressureB次元官网网址� in requiring 29 per cent of household income.

The report identifies Sidney as B次元官网网址渦pscale but relatively affordable, with detached and attached homes requiring about 36 per cent and 32 per cent of household income, respectively.B次元官网网址� This said, SidneyB次元官网网址檚 affordability is declining, according to the report. B次元官网网址淭he past year saw the affordability of apartments decline 22 per cent B次元官网网址� neck-and-neck with a 24 per cent deterioration in the affordability of detached homes B次元官网网址� as demand strengthened.B次元官网网址�

Sidney, in other words, is attracting buyers, increasingly shut out of other markets in the Greater Victoria area.

So which areas of the Greater Victoria area remain affordable? Sooke and Esquimalt.

B次元官网网址淪ooke is one of those rare municipalities where everything is affordable by local standards, and even more so for those leaving the Lower Mainland,B次元官网网址� it read. Sooke apartments require just 13 per cent of local income, whereas detached homes require 26 per cent of household income.

B次元官网网址淓squimalt, like Sooke, remains an affordable place to buy,B次元官网网址� the report concludes. B次元官网网址淭he typical residence now requires 27 per cent of household income, a modest decline from last year,B次元官网网址� it read. B次元官网网址淭he more affordable property types took the greatest hit to affordability over the past year, with attached and apartment properties becoming more than a fifth less affordable.B次元官网网址�