British Columbians' Views On Housing, And Growth & Development Issues

Vancouver, BC -- The BC Real Estate Association commissioned Ipsos-Reid to undertake the province-wide survey on Housing Issues in British Columbia. Following is a summary of some of the principal findings.

Local Government Performance Of Growth And Development Issues

For the most part, British Columbians are largely satisfied with the overall level and quality of the services provided by their municipality (81%). However, the majority (60%) of these respondents say they are only "somewhat satisfied" with these services, while much fewer (21%) say they are "very satisfied". Respondents living in Greater Vancouver are the most likely to be satisfied with these services overall (83%), while those living in the North Interior are the least likely (74%).

Further analysis suggests that while specific services are rated quite highly, other services are deemed less satisfactory. Overall, respondents are most satisfied with their local government's provision of parks and other recreational services or facilities (86%, 40% "very satisfied"). This is more true in Greater Vancouver (89%), the Fraser Valley (85%) and on Vancouver Island (88%) than in the North (75%) or South Interior (82%).

The majority of respondents are also satisfied with their local government's performance in terms of maintaining or upgrading the condition of local streets and highways (66%, 19% "very satisfied"), taking steps to ensure their community is safe and free of violent crime (65%, 18% "very satisfied"), encouraging economic investment that brings jobs to the area (64%, 14% "very satisfied"), providing convenient and accessible public transportation (63%, 16% "very satisfied") and easing traffic congestion on local roads and highways (57%, 14% "very satisfied").

However, British Columbians are less satisfied with the steps their local government has taken to ensure there are homes to buy at affordable prices (44%, 8% "very satisfied"). A majority (51%) are dissatisfied.

Regionally, there are some variations in levels of satisfaction with specific issues:

• Condition of local streets and highways: Far fewer North Interior residents are satisfied (38%, compared to an average of 73% in most other areas)
• Safety and crime: Fraser Valley residents are less satisfied with efforts (51% vs. 68% on average in other regions)
• Encouraging economic investment: Greater Vancouver (70%) and Fraser Valley (68%) residents are more satisfied than others (average 57%).
• Convenient/accessible public transportation: Higher levels of satisfaction in Greater Vancouver (66%) and on Vancouver Island (70%) than elsewhere (average 56%).
• Easing traffic congestion: Greater Vancouver residents (43%) are far less satisfied than those living in other regions (average 67%).
• Affordability of homes: Greater Vancouver residents are the least satisfied (36%, compared to an average of 53%)

Factors Affecting British Columbians' Decision Of Where To Live

Overall, affordability (65%) and family-oriented neighbourhood (64%) are the most important factors British Columbians consider when they decide where they'll live. Other factors that play an important role in this decision are the level of crime (58%), proximity to amenities such as retail stores, parks etc (50%) and access to doctors, hospitals and other health care services (50%).

Respondents appear less influenced by factors such as proximity to work (or their spouse's work - 48%), the level of traffic (38%), proximity to schools (37%), and access to public transportation (31%).

The importance of these factors varies somewhat by region. For example, respondents living in Greater Vancouver, the Fraser Valley and the South Interior indicate that affordability is the most important factor (being chosen 62%, 68% and 74% of the time, respectively). However, those living in the North Interior or on Vancouver Island are more influenced by whether the home is in a family-oriented neighbourhood (chosen 75% and 68% of the time, respectively).

Factors Affecting British Columbians' Home Purchasing Decision

British Columbians consider a number of factors when buying a home. Price is the most important feature, with 97% of respondents saying price is important in their decision of whether to purchase a particular home. A large proportion (73%) of these respondents indicate price is "very important".

Other highly important features include the type of home (89%), privacy from neighbours (89%), whether it has a garage or other parking facilities (83%,) and the condition of the home (81%).

While somewhat less important than the features already listed, the majority of British Columbians also place considerable emphasis on the age of the home (70%), whether it has a large yard (69%), its uniqueness (65%) and whether or not it has a view (63%).

While these trends are fairly consistent across all regions, there are a few variations:

• Large yard: More important in the North Interior (84%) than in Greater Vancouver (60%).
• Garage or parking facilities: More important in the Fraser Valley (89%) and the South Interior (87%) than on Vancouver Island (78%).
• Privacy from neighbours: More important in the Fraser Valley (93%) than in Greater Vancouver (85%).

Views On Real Estate Profession Advocacy With Government

The vast majority of British Columbians support the real estate profession advocating government action in a number of areas. The top areas include: reducing crime (90%), environmental conservation (89%), the rights of property owners (88%), responsible fiscal management (81%), and diverse housing options (81%). Many also support advocating the elimination of the Property Transfer Tax (68%).

Regional variations in support are as follows:

• Environmental conservation: More support in Greater Vancouver (91%) and on Vancouver Island (92%) than in the North Interior (84%).
• Diverse housing options: More support in Greater Vancouver (86%) than in all other regions (average 76%).

Priorities For Managing Growth And Development In BC

The majority (55%) of British Columbians believe that managing growth and development should be a high priority for government. Another 33% believe it should be a "mid-level" priority. Very few (11%) suggest that managing growth and development should be a low level priority for government.

• Respondents living in Greater Vancouver are the most likely to think that managing growth and development should be a high priority (61%), while those living on Vancouver Island or in the Fraser Valley are the least likely to think so (48% and 50%, respectively).

When asked about specific areas of growth and development:

• The vast majority of respondents support building or expanding transit systems (89%) and building new roads and widening existing roads (81%).
• High levels of support are also noted for encouraging retail and commercial development (79%), encouraging growth that results in the expansion of outlying communities (77%), increasing construction of multi-family dwellings as opposed to single-family homes (69%) and building commercial, retail and residential buildings all in the same neighbourhood (62%).

Some regional differences are apparent:

• Encouraging growth that results in expansion of outlying communities: more support in the South Interior (91%) and the North Interior (86%) than elsewhere in BC, especially Vancouver Island (69%).
• Increasing construction of multi-family dwellings: more support in Greater Vancouver (74%), the South Interior (73%) and on Vancouver Island (72%) than in Fraser Valley (60%) and the North Interior (58%).

These are the findings of an Ipsos-Reid telephone poll conducted on behalf of the BC Real Estate Association (BCREA) from January 5th to 9th, 2005 with a randomly selected sample of 1,250 adult British Columbia residents. The results are considered accurate to within 1772.8 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire BC adult 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 BC population according to the 2001 Census.

For more information on this news release, please contact:
Daniel Savas
Senior Vice-President
Ipsos-Reid Corporation
Vancouver, BC
604.257.3200

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