Manitoba and Saskatchewan residents among the country's most confident
homeowners, but most will wait another year
WINNIPEG, March 26, 2013 /CNW/ - There is contrasting consumer sentiment
among Prairie residents towards confidence and home-buying intentions,
with 89 per cent of respondents in Manitoba and Saskatchewan saying
they do not expect to buy a home in the next two years, while 88 per
cent say buying a house or condo is a good investment, according to the
20th Annual RBC Homeownership Poll.
The confidence in the long term value of buying a home is similar to
Alberta (89 per cent) and above the national average (84 per cent).
"Saskatchewan and Manitoba experienced one of the most robust periods of
housing activity in the country recently. It makes sense that residents
are assessing current conditions and their options, and taking a
wait-and-see approach compared to other areas in Canada," said Richard
Schwan, regional vice-president, Mortgage Specialists, RBC. "The good
news is that they have tremendous confidence in the long term value of
their home."
A majority of residents in Manitoba and Saskatchewan (56 per cent) say
it makes more sense to wait until next year to buy a home, in contrast
to the national average that believes it makes sense to buy a home now
given current housing and economic conditions (52 per cent).
The poll found that 84 per cent of Prairie respondents say the housing
market in their community is overpriced and more than half of residents
(55 per cent) in Manitoba and Saskatchewan say it's a seller's market,
more than double the national average (25 per cent). One-third (33 per
cent) describe the current housing market as a balanced market and even
fewer would call it a buyer's market (12 per cent).
Key regional highlights:
-
Almost 8-in-10 respondents (77 per cent) say recent government changes
will impact or delay people getting into the market.
-
More than half of residents in Manitoba and Saskatchewan expect mortgage
rates to be higher at this time next year (52 per cent), while 46 per
cent think they will be the same as they are today. The region has the
lowest percentage of respondents who think interest rates will be lower
a year from now (2 per cent)
-
Respondents are in line with national averages in terms of where they
see home prices at this time next year: 42 per cent see higher home
prices (national: 43 per cent), 31 per cent forecast steady home prices
(national: 33 per cent), and 27 per cent see lower home prices
(national: 24 per cent).
"The poll shows us there are some mixed consumer opinions. That's why
it's important to get expert advice from a mortgage specialist to
create the right financial plan and ensure a smooth homebuying
experience," added Schwan.
Nationally, four-in-10 Canadians (40 per cent) planning to enter the housing
market over the next two years will be first-time homebuyers. The
majority of Canadians are taking a wait-and-see approach to home
purchases, with 15 per cent likely to buy in the next two years, down
from 27 per cent last year. The 12-percentage-point drop is the biggest
year-over-year fall in overall buying intention as tracked by this
annual poll.
Regional highlights for British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada are also available.
About RBC's Home Ownership Advice
Canadians can visit the RBC Advice Centre, an online resource to help Canadians understand all facets of homeownership. Through advice videos, articles, and online calculators, Canadians can
learn about buying their first home, planning their next move, or renovating. With more than 1,400 RBC mortgage specialists across the country,
Canadians have access to free, no-obligation professional advice about
RBC mortgage products and services.
About the 20th Annual RBC Home Ownership Poll
RBC is the largest residential mortgage lender in Canada. As the
country's number one source of financial advice on homeownership, RBC
conducts consumer surveys as one way to provide insight to Canadians
about the marketplace in which they live.
These are some of the findings of an RBC poll conducted by Ipsos Reid
between Jan. 31 and Feb. 8, 2013. The online survey is based on a
randomly selected representative sample of 3,005 adult Canadians. With
a representative sample of this size, the results are considered
accurate to within ±3.0 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 will be larger within regions and for other
sub-groupings of the survey 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 2011
Census data.
SOURCE: RBC
