Canadians wary of buying homes

According to an article on the CBC website this morning a Royal Bank survey finds that Canadians remain wary of buying a home at the current time. According to the survey, 59% of people believe right now is the time to get into the property market but 73% say they unlikely to do so in the next two years. The good news for the market is that 88% of Canadians still believe a home is a good investment.

“There’s a mix of opinions on the housing market, as Canadians still feel confident about real estate but are a little uncertain about where the market is heading and when it makes sense to buy," said Moffat, head of home equity financing for RBC.

Some of the reasons put forward for the apparent contradiction include concern over the pension reforms, continued uncertainty over the Euro crisis and a belief that the buyers market will continue, with no big changes to house prices or mortgage rates expected by consumers.

Here in the Okanagan there remains a good supply of homes available and the upcoming spring weather may encourage people to get out and start looking. It seems that if many people remain uncertain, now may be a good time to find the perfect home for you.

The survey was conducted by Ipsos Reid on behalf of RBC between Jan. 24 and 30. It has an estimated margin of error of plus or minus two percentage points 19 times out of 20.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.