Photo by Grant MacDonald
According to the annual RBC Homeownership Study undertaken by Royal Bank of Canada, an overwhelming majority of Canadians (90 per cent) are confident about real estate in Canada as an investment and 85 per cent feel that they are doing a good or excellent job of paying down their mortgage. The survey also shows that 73 per cent of Canadians believe that they or their family are well-positioned to handle any potential housing drop.
Marcia Moffat, RBC head of home equity financing, commented on the situation: "Canadians believe in the long-term benefits of owning a home including the value it can provide, both personally and as a long-term investment." She further added that the growing Canadian confidence could be stemming from stable employment and rising incomes.
But the government and analysts are less assured of the nation’s ability to pay off personal debts: the Finance Minister, Jim Flaherty, is about to introduce new measures tightening mortgage rules later this month. Shortening the amortization period on government-insured mortgages from 35 to 30 years, limiting the size of home-equity loans and withdrawing government insurance on lines of credit secured on homes are some of the planned changes.
Still, a large majority of Canadians thought it was a good time to make a purchase and 29 per cent said it was likely they would buy a home over the next two years.
