Two Thirds (66%) of Canadian Homeowners Have Renovated in the Past Two Years

Toronto, ON - Likely having taken advantage of the now defunct home-renovation tax credit, two-thirds (66%) of Canadian homeowners have renovated in the past two years according to a new poll conducted by Ipsos Reid on behalf of RBC. Canadians' plans to renovate have slipped in the past year though. Last year, renovation intentions for the subsequent two years stood at 66% whereas this year slightly fewer (62%) Canadian homeowners plan to renovate in the next two years.

Nine in ten (92%) Canadian renovators believe that their renovations are a way of increasing the value of their home, but mistakes appear to have been made along the way. Nearly three in ten (28%) said going over budget was their biggest mistake. Other renovation mistakes included using the wrong contractor or trades people (15%) and doing the renovation themselves (13%).

Bathrooms are the rooms that many Canadian homeowners (38%) plan to renovate most often followed by exterior renovations (32%) which include yard and deck improvements. Basement renovation plans jumped from 13% in 2009 to 21% in 2010. What drives Canadians homeowners to want to renovate their homes? The most common answer given appears to be keeping up with friends, family and neighbours' homes (36%) with television home improvement shows (34%) following closely behind as the second-most popular reason.

Interestingly, women are most likely to initiate renovations (63%) but more than half (55%) expect their spouse or partner to do most of the work. Only one third (34%) of women expect to hire a contractor and three in ten (31%) state that they will do most of the work themselves.

Renovations continue to be preferred to moving residences. Three quarters (74%) of homeowners say that they would prefer to renovate than move, and a total of 94% would continue (52% definitely/ 42% probably) with their renovation if housing prices levelled off or even declined.

Home Renovation Costs...

Although renovations are usually a good investment that increases the value of one's home, it can often take a substantial amount of cash to finance a renovation. Over half (55%) of Canadian renovators paid for their renovations with either cash or savings while one third (35%) paid off the debt they took on to renovate in under one month. Two in five (41%) of those who have debts remaining from their renovations expect it will take them more than a year to pay off. Almost seven in ten (68%) Canadian renovators established a budget but only half (49%) managed to stay within it.

Another source of financing renovations was through credit cards (38%) or a regular line of credit (24%). The most common reasons for using a credit card were to earn reward points (42%), to make tracking renovation expenses easier (30%) and because of the need for available credit (28%). Younger Canadians between 18-34 years of age were the most likely (46%) to have used a credit card to have helped finance their renovations.

Renovations: Canada vs. the U.S.

Canadians were renovating significantly more than their Southern counterparts. While 66% of Canadians had completed renovations in the past two years, only 51% of American homeowners performed home renovations.

However, U.S. residents were slightly more likely to plan to renovate (67%) but on the other hand, they plan to spend less ($9,800) compared to Canadians ($10,796) on average to complete their renovation.

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted between September 17 and 22, 2010, on behalf of RBC. The online survey is based on a randomly selected representative sample of 3,565 Canadian and 3,205 U.S. homeowners of whom 2,156 Canadian and 2,090 U.S. homeowners plan to renovate within the next two years. 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 +/-1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what the results would have been had the entire population of adults in Canada been polled and an estimated margin of error of +/-2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what the results would have been had the entire population of adults in the U.S. 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
Senior Research Manager
Ipsos Reid
Public Affairs
(416) 572-4474
[email protected]

About Ipsos Reid

Ipsos Reid is Canada's market intelligence leader, the country's leading provider of public opinion research, and research partner for loyalty and forecasting and modelling insights. With operations in eight cities, Ipsos Reid employs more than 600 research professionals and support staff in Canada. The company has the biggest network of telephone call centres in the country, as well as the largest pre-recruited household and online panels. Ipsos Reid's marketing research and public affairs practices offer the premier suite of research vehicles in Canada, all of which provide clients with actionable and relevant information. Staffed with seasoned research consultants with extensive industry-specific backgrounds, Ipsos Reid offers syndicated information or custom solutions across key sectors of the Canadian economy, including consumer packaged goods, financial services, automotive, retail, and technology & telecommunications. Ipsos Reid is an Ipsos company, a leading global survey-based market research group.

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