Seven in Ten (70%) Renters in Ontario Say
Buying a Home is in their Plan

Toronto, ON - Seven in ten (70%) Ontarians who currently rent their home say that owning a home is in their plan, according to a new Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of the Ontario Real Estate Association. In fact, 12% say it's their plan to purchase in the next two years, while others say within the next five years (19%), within the next ten years (12%), or at some point down the road (28%). Just three in ten (30%) renters say that they never plan on owning a home.

Furthermore, seven in ten (70%) `agree' (43% strongly/27% somewhat) that one of their goals in life is to be a home owner, and a similar proportion (71%) `agrees' (36% strongly/35% somewhat) that renting is not ideal - they'd rather own. While eight in ten (78%) `agree' (38% strongly/39% somewhat) that renting is just the right choice for them at the their current stage in life, two in three (67%) renters `agree' (32% strongly/35% somewhat) that they feel like their wasting their money by renting.

Among the primary reasons for renting include not being able to afford a home (54%), not having a down-payment saved (52%), liking the convenience of not having to worry about maintenance (26%), not wanting the responsibility of owning a home (25%), a preference for renting (16%), being a former home owner and now a renter (13%), not wanting to be a home owner (11%), or some other reason. But when asked to identify the primary reason for why they're renting, finances are at the top of the list for most, as 33% indicate they don't think they can afford a home and 26% suggest they don't have a down-payment saved.

Barriers to Home Ownership...

Many renters, though, appear to be hesitant when it comes to taking the plunge into home ownership. Seven in ten (71%) `agree' that the process of buying their first home seems overwhelming, and most (95%) `agree' (60% strongly/35% somewhat) that the process of buying a home is expensive, so it's not surprising that seven in ten (70%) `agree' (41% strongly/30% somewhat) that they're having a hard time saving for their first home and could use a little help. Among the three in ten (30%) renters who don't plan to buy a home at some point, a majority (52%) of them believes they'll never be able to afford it, while only three in ten (29%) prefer to rent and 23% just don't want to.

Seven in ten (70%) renters `agree' (29% strongly/41% somewhat) that if the government offered more tax breaks and incentives to offset costs for first-time buyers, they'd be more likely to consider owning a home.

Eight in ten (81%) Ontarians, overall, `agree' (41% strongly/40% somewhat) that owning a home is more difficult now than it was in their parent's generation, and most (89%) `agree' (43% strongly/46% somewhat) that owning a home will become even more difficult for the next generation of homebuyers.

The Financial Benefits of Home Ownership...

When it comes to various types of investments that can help someone build equity and wealth, home ownership is at the top of the list for Ontarians. Nine in ten (86%) believe that home owners is good building equity and wealth, more than the proportion of Ontarians who believe the same about RRSPs (79%), stocks/mutual funds (74%), savings accounts (63%), building jewellery/antics (26%), renting (23%) or buying automobiles (22%).

Nine in ten (87%) Ontarians, including 94% of homeowners, believe that owning a home can help them realize their long-term financial goals. Perhaps as a result, almost all (99%) homeowners, and most (84%) renters, believe that over the long-term it makes more sense to own a home rather than rent. Nine in ten (91%) homeowners `agree' (52% strongly/40% somewhat) they feel that they are better off financially because they're a home owner.

Renters (45%) are more likely than owners (21%) to agree that they're having a hard time keeping up with their mortgage/rental payments.

Self and Community Benefits of Owning a Home...

In fact, when it comes to various aspects of their life, home owners generally report being in a better situation than renters in a whole host of ways:

• Owners (86%) are more likely than renters (73%) to say they're happy.
• Owners (87%) are more likely than renters (80%) to rate their health as good.
• Owners (73%) are more likely than renters (42%) to agree that they're on sound footing, financially.
• Owners (74%) are more likely than renters (48%) to say they went out to vote in their last municipal election.

Owners (75%) are more likely than renters (57%) to say that they feel connected to their community and to feel that they're making a positive contribution to the community around them (81% own vs. 66% rent).

They're also more likely than renters to say that in the last two years they've: donated to charity (82% vs. 57%), participated in a local festival or event (58% vs. 51%), volunteer with a local community charity (35% vs. 26%), attended a political rally, function or meeting (12% vs. 10%), or written a letter to the editor of their local newspaper (11% vs. 8%). Among those things studied, the only thing that renters are more likely than owners to have done is moved homes in the last two years (29% renters vs. 12% owners).

Other Benefits of Owning a Home...

Almost all (94%) Ontarians `agree' (58% strongly/37% somewhat) that owning a home provides a healthy and stable environment for raising a family. Beyond that, eight in ten (80%) homeowners `agree' (37% strongly/42% somewhat) that they've got the flexibility to do whatever they want to their home, whereas only 47% of renters feel the same way. In fact, nine in ten (92%) homeowners `agree' (56% strongly/36% somewhat) that owning their home give them a sense of freedom that they didn't have before owning. Owners (98%) are considerably more likely than renters (81%) to say that they take pride in their home.

For homeowners, the best aspects of owning their home include the investment and building equity aspect (38%), followed by the freedom to do what they want (27%), not having to pay rent (15%), ownership (9%), financial stability (8%), resale value (8%), stability (8%), the pride of ownership (7%), a good place to raise their family (7%), privacy (7%), security (5%), independence (4%), not having a landlord (4%), the ability to sell (3%), having a yard (3%), and having no mortgage (3%), among other factors.

In hindsight, almost all (98%) homeowners say that home ownership was a `good' (78% very/20% pretty good) decision for them, compared to just eight in ten (78%) renters who say that, in hindsight, renting has been a `good' (24% very/55% pretty good) decision for them. Furthermore, almost all (97%) homeowners `agree' (68% strongly/30% somewhat) that buying a home is one of the best decisions they've ever made, and a similar proportion (98%) `agrees' (63% strongly/35% somewhat) that they'd recommend home ownership to a friend or family member.

Drawbacks and Areas for Improvement for Home Ownership in Ontario...

While one in ten (11%) homeowners in Ontario believe that there are no drawbacks to home ownership, most were able to identify at least one aspect they didn't care for. By a wide margin, the most-often cited drawback is home repairs and maintenance (48%), followed by property taxes (22%), expenses (7%), utility costs (7%), mortgage payments (6%), bills (4%), interest rates (3%), yard work (2%), among other drawbacks.

Perhaps in an effort to mitigate some of these drawbacks, Ontarians have given their support or opposition to various proposals that could be put in place:

• Nine in ten (92%) `agree' (52% strongly/41% somewhat) that the government should create more incentives for homeowners to make environmentally-friendly and energy-friendly renovations to their home. Just one in ten (8%) `disagree' (2% strongly/6% somewhat).
• Nine in ten (94%) homeowners `agree' (63% strongly/31% somewhat) that the government should encourage home-renovation through tax credits.
• Nine in ten (93%) homeowners `agree' (64% strongly/29% somewhat) that the government should reduce the taxes paid when buying a home. In fact, eight in ten (81%) `agree' (37% strongly/44% somewhat) that home ownership doesn't provide good tax benefits.
• Most (95%) homeowners `agree' (65% strongly/30% somewhat) that the government should provide home owners with incentives to reduce their energy costs.

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted between February 23 to March 2, 2011, on behalf of the Ontario Real Estate Association. For this survey, a sample of 1,519 adults from Ipsos' Canadian online panel was interviewed online. Weighting was then employed to balance demographics and ensure that the sample's composition reflects that of the adult population according to Census data and to provide results intended to approximate the sample universe. A survey with an unweighted probability sample of this size and a 100% response rate would have an estimated margin of error of +/-2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what the results would have been had the entire population of adults in Ontario been polled. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

Sean Simpson
Associate Vice President
Ipsos Reid
416.572.4474
[email protected]

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