MAJORITY IN B.C. SAY “BUY NOW”, ACCORDING TOxml:namespace prefix =" o" ns =" "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"" />
RBC HOMEOWNERSHIP SURVEY
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According to the RBC poll, 22 per cent of those looking to purchase a home in the next two years are likely to do so within the next 12 months, and B.C. residents are among the most likely in
“A general expectation of higher housing prices and a concern about interest rate increases may explain why British Columbians are strongly in favour of buying over waiting,” said Kevin Lutz, regional manager, Mortgage Specialists, RBC Royal Bank. “Perhaps due in part to the hot housing market of the past few years, we’re also seeing residents of B.C. estimating a higher average market value of their homes than any other region of the country.”
The poll found that 65 per cent of B.C. residents expect housing prices will be higher by this time next year and a majority (55 per cent) said they are concerned about interest rate increases in 2007. Forty-five per cent stated they expect to see mortgage rates higher in a year’s time.
On average, B.C. homeowners estimate the value of their homes at $373,489, well above the national average of $227,862. They also estimate that the value of their home has increased by an average of 35 per cent over the last two years. Not surprisingly, an overwhelming majority of British Columbians continue to see great value in homeownership, with 93 per cent saying that buying a house or condominium is a “good” or “very good” investment.
Also according to the poll, British Columbian homeowners are among those most likely in
These are some of the findings of an RBC poll conducted by Ipsos Reid between January 18 and 22, 2007. The online survey is based on a randomly selected representative sample of 2,404 adult Canadians. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within ±2.0 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 for residents of
|
RBC 2007 HOMEOWNERSHIP SURVEY RESPONSES |
Nat |
BC |
AB |
SK/MB |
ON |
QC |
AT |
|
Own a home |
61% |
62% |
68% |
66% |
63% |
52% |
66% |
|
Percentage of homeowners who have a mortgage |
63% |
65% |
58% |
52% |
65% |
64% |
57% |
|
Homeowners who will likely choose a fixed rate when they next renew their mortgage |
54% |
58% |
59% |
69% |
53% |
42% |
66% |
|
Are very likely to purchase a home in the next two years |
9% |
11% |
12% |
10% |
9% |
6% |
10% |
|
Believe mortgage rates will be higher in one year's time |
43% |
45% |
46% |
43% |
44% |
38% |
49% |
|
Believe housing prices will be higher in one year's time |
59% |
65% |
68% |
63% |
62% |
47% |
58% |
|
Homeowners who have borrowed against the equity in their homes |
39% |
40% |
46% |
46% |
42% |
28% |
33% |
|
Homeowners who have refinanced their home in the last 12 months |
28% |
29% |
29% |
30% |
27% |
25% |
29% |
|
Plan to buy a bigger home |
48% |
49% |
43% |
51% |
47% |
59% |
37% |
|
Plan to buy resale home |
77% |
80% |
76% |
84% |
76% |
78% |
70% |
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Media contacts:
Lynn Hatcher-Brandt, RBC, (604) 665-4031
John Wright, Ipsos Reid, (416) 324-2900
For full tabular results, please see the Ipsos Reid website at www.ipsos.ca.