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OTTAWA — Higher prices and an increase in mortgage rates have made home affordability more of a problem for the average Canadian family, says a new report from the Royal Bank of Canada.

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RBC’s latest research on the portion of average household income needed to maintain a home shows that affordability deteriorated over the summer, the second consecutive drop in as many quarters.

The level of deterioration differs from region to region and between types of homes, but for the average bungalow the affordability measure rose 0.7 of a percentage point to 43.3% nationally in the third quarter, after a 0.3-percentage-point gain in the second quarter.

[np_storybar title=”Five things to do if you are over-extended on your mortgage” link=”http://business.financialpost.com/2013/11/21/five-things-to-do-if-you-are-over-extended-on-your-mortgage/”]If you can see problems coming, then you can take action to avoid foreclosure. Here are five options to consider when you are being crushed by mortgage payments

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