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RBC study finds home purchasing intentions rebound in Ontario

05:00 EST Wednesday, March 04, 2009

Almost two-in-three Ontarians say it's a buyer's market

TORONTO, March 4 /CNW/ - Homebuying intentions in Ontario have increased over last year and sit just shy of 2007 levels, according to the 16th Annual RBC Homeownership Survey. The poll found that 30 per cent of Ontarians said they were likely to purchase a home within the next two years, up from 21 per cent in 2008.

The survey, conducted by Ipsos Reid, found that a large majority (73 per cent) believe it is a buyer's market right now, with less than one-in-ten (seven per cent) saying sellers currently have the advantage. Given current housing prices and economic conditions, most Ontarians (54 per cent) believe it makes more sense to buy now, rather than wait until next year.

"With mortgage rates and housing prices looking more favourable than they did last year, many Ontarians are saying now is the time to buy," said Doug Crowe, vice-president, Mortgages, Greater Toronto Area, RBC. "Our survey also showed that an overwhelming majority of Ontarians still feel confident that buying a home is a smart, worthwhile investment."

In fact, according to the survey, 84 per cent of those polled in Ontario said that buying a home is a good or very good investment. On average, Ontario homeowners approximate the value of their home at $247,632. On average, they also estimate that the value of their homes increased 10 per cent over the last two years.

Among those who plan to purchase this year or next, 34 per cent cited the need for a bigger home. Thirty-three per cent will do so because their current home does not meet their needs, and 32 per cent said they will buy because house prices are attractive. Seventy-six per cent said they plan to purchase resale and most (69 per cent) will opt for a detached house.

Future Ontario homebuyers also specified that environmental considerations would weigh on their purchase decision. Almost all respondents (96 per cent) indicated that buying a home with low energy consumption was important to them and 81 per cent said the same about environmentally-friendly features. Further, 91 per cent of those surveyed were interested in having standardized energy ratings for their homes.

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Regional Differences Nat BC AB SK/MB ON QC AT

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Own a home 67% 69% 69% 70% 68% 60% 67%

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Percentage of homeowners

who have a mortgage 61% 56% 46% 62% 64% 66% 60%

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Percentage who believe it

is a buyer's market 65% 78% 72% 34% 73% 52% 58%

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Owners and renters who are

'likely' or 'very likely'

to purchase a home in the

next two years 27% 26% 35% 25% 30% 22% 25%

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Believe mortgage rates

will be higher in one

year's time 33% 28% 26% 35% 33% 33% 46%

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Believe housing prices

will be higher in one

year's time 25% 20% 23% 27% 26% 25% 36%

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Believe buying a home is

a good investment 83% 81% 86% 83% 84% 79% 84%

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Homebuyers planning to

purchase a detached home 68% 76% 63% 63% 69% 60% 84%

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Homebuyers planning to buy

a bigger home 47% 42% 40% 69% 52% 49% 20%

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Homebuyers planning to buy

a resale home 74% 83% 71% 60% 76% 75% 64%

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Homebuyers planning to buy

a new home 26% 17% 29% 40% 24% 25% 36%

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These are some of the findings of an RBC poll conducted by Ipsos Reid between January 6 and 9, 2009. The online survey is based on a randomly selected representative sample of 2,026 adult Canadians. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within +/-2.2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult Canadian population been polled. The margin of error for residents of Ontario is +/-3.5 per cent (N=771) and the margin of error for Ontario homeowners is +/-4.2 per cent (N=535). The margin of error will be larger for other sub-groupings of the population. These data were statistically weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to the 2006 Census data.

For full tabular results, please see the Ipsos Reid website at www.ipsos.ca.

For further information: Judy Dobbs, RBC, (416) 974-3178; Sean Simpson, Ipsos-Reid, (416) 572-4474