The Scotiabank 2021 Canadian Housing Survey - Maru Group

The Scotiabank 2021 Canadian Housing Survey

Toronto, April 8, 2021—A survey released today by Maru Public Opinion that was
conducted for Scotiabank finds that more than half of Canadians (57%) believe now
is a good time to buy a house due to the low interest rate environment, up nearly
20% since August 2020. In fact, the Scotiabank 2021 Housing Survey finds younger
Canadians (39%) saying that the pandemic has accelerated their plans to purchase a
home, which has more than doubled in just over 6 months.

Some of the key findings include:
 Over a third of Canadians (36%) believe housing prices will come down over the
  next 12 months as a result of the pandemic, up from 25% in 2020.
 Canadians in the Atlantic provinces are least likely to put their home buying plans
  on hold as a result of the pandemic negatively impacting their finances (24%)
  compared to those in housing hotspots like BC, Quebec and Ontario.
 Among Canadian homeowners planning renovations, one in four are looking to
  start in the next six months.
 Almost half of millennials (48%) are considering moving out of the city to get
  more for their money, compared with 27% of those aged 35-54 and 15% of those
  aged 55+.
 Two in three Canadians polled said the ability to use the invested equity from their
  home for other financial needs was a deciding factor for them when choosing a
  mortgage. However, the study reveals that just over half of Canadians (53%) are
  not familiar enough with how a Home Equity Line of credit works in order to be
  able to explain it to a friend.

Millennial Mindset
 Younger Canadians (18-34 years) are more likely to have accelerated their home
  buying plans in order to take advantage of lower interest rates (39%).
 Nearly two thirds (60%) of younger Canadians (18-34 years) are unfamiliar with a
  Home Equity Line and couldn’t explain it to a friend.
 Canadians aged 18-34 are significantly more likely to have bought their home
  within the past year (23%).
 Almost half of millennials polled (48%) are considering moving out of the city to
  get more for their money, compared with 27% of those ages 35-54 and 15% of
  those ages 55+.

Renovating or Moving On
    One-in-four Canadians who are currently renting (24%) plan to buy a home in
     the next 2 years

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   About half of Canadians (49%) planning to purchase an additional property will pay
    for the down payment with their savings.
   Regionally, plans for renovations are highest in the prairie provinces, with 70% in
    Manitoba/Saskatchewan, and 62% in Alberta.
   Top three renovation spaces for Canadians: backyards (33%), bathrooms (30%) and
    kitchens (28%).

The Great Migration
   Over a quarter (29%) of Canadians say they are considering moving or buying a
    home out of the city to get more for their money.

   More Canadians (30%) in housing hotspots like BC, Ontario and Quebec are
    considering moving or buying a home outside of the city, compared to only 19% of
    Canadians in the Atlantic region.

Detailed Findings
Purchase Intentions and Financing

One in six (17%) Canadian homeowners indicate that they have plans to
purchase a new home and sell their current home – with those most likely to do so
residing in the province of Alberta (21%), followed by those living in Ontario (18%),
Québec (17%), British Columbia (15%), Manitoba/Saskatchewan (12%), and Atlantic
Canada (11%). These potential sellers/buyers are more likely to be male (20%) than
female (14%), and are millennial (aged 18 – 34 34%), along with those who have the
highest income earnings ($100,000+ 20%), and those who are the highest educated
(university+ 25%).

One Quarter of renters (24%) indicate that they have plans to purchase a home
in the next one to two years (5% within the next six months and 20% within the next
one – two years.) Those renters who are most likely to have this view (24%) reside in
British Columbia/Atlantic Canada (29%), followed by those who are living in Alberta
(27%), Ontario (26%), Manitoba/Saskatchewan (20%), and Québec (18%). Renters who
are male (28%) are more likely than their female counterparts (21%) to have this view –
and are extraordinarily millennial (aged 18 – 34 40%), with the highest household
earnings ($100,000+ 43%), and who are the highest educated (university+ 36%).

This group is followed by another one in 10 (12%) who are intent on purchasing
an additional property for leisure or investment purposes, including the
purchase of a home for kids or another family member. These homeowners are
most likely to reside in Ontario (14%), followed by those in Alberta (13%),
Manitoba/Saskatchewan/Québec (12%), British Columbia (11%), and Atlantic Canada
(10%). Those most likely to have these intentions are more likely to be male (17%) than
female (8%) and are extraordinarily millennial (18 – 34 27%), followed by those who are
the highest income earners (20%), and those who are the highest educated (19%).

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Of this group (12%) half (49%) indicate that they are planning to pay for the
down payment for the new property using their savings, followed by one third (33%)
who will prefer to use their equity from their primary home, an equal number (33%) who
will take money out of their investments (such as an RRSP or TFSA), and one in five (19%)
who say they will likely borrow money from family or friends. One in 10 (12%) are not sure
yet how they will pay for their down payment for the new property.

Seven in 10 (68% – 25% very important/42% somewhat) Canadians indicate
that the ability to use the invested equity from their home for other financial
needs is important as a feature when choosing a mortgage – however, a majority
(53%) indicate that they could not explain to a friend what a Home Equity Line is—
compared with just under half (47%) who say that they could explain what it is to a friend.
Those most likely unable to explain this type of financial instrument are disproportionately
female (57%) versus male (49%), most likely residing in Atlantic Canada (61%), are
millennial’s (aged 18 – 34 60%), those with the least amount of household earnings (less
than $50,000 per annum 65%), and those with the least amount of education (high school
or less 59%).

Six in 10 (57%) indicate that now is a good time to buy a property because
interest rates are long due to the pandemic. These Canadians are most likely to hail
from Alberta (73%), followed by those residing in Manitoba/Saskatchewan (65%), Atlantic
Canada 62%), British Columbia (60%), Ontario (54%), and Québec (50%). Those who are
most likely to have this perspective are the highest income earners ($100,000+ 62%),
followed by those who are both millennial’s (aged 18 – 34 60%) and the oldest Canadians
(55+ 60%), as well as those with the highest level of education (university+ 58%).

One third (36%) of Canadians believe that housing prices will come down
over the next 12 months as a result of the pandemic. Those most likely to have
this view reside in Alberta (46%), followed by those living in Atlantic Canada (42%),
Manitoba/Saskatchewan 39%), Ontario (36%), British Columbia (32%), and Québec
(30%). They are also most likely to be disproportionately male (39%) versus female
(33%), and millennial (aged 18 – 34 49%), the highest income earners ($100,000+
39%), and those with immediate postsecondary education (college/technical school
39%).

One in five (19%) Canadians indicate that the coronavirus pandemic has
accelerated their plans to purchase a home in order to take advantage of lower
interest rates and/or home prices. This sentiment is highest in British Columbia (22%),
followed by those in Manitoba/Saskatchewan (21%), Québec (20%), Ontario (19%),
Alberta (17%), and Atlantic Canada (15%). This view is also harboured primarily by those
who are male (24%) versus female (15%), millennial’s (aged 18 – 34 39%), those with the
highest household income ($100,000+ 23%), and those with the highest level of education
(university+ 25%).

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One third (33%) of Canadians indicate that they are waiting to buy a property
until the housing prices come down because of the impact of the coronavirus.
Those who are most likely to have this perspective reside in Québec (37%), followed by
those living in British Columbia (34%), Ontario (33%), Manitoba/Saskatchewan (31%),
Alberta (30%), and Atlantic Canada (24%). Those who are male (35%) are more likely
to have this view than those who are female (31%), along with those who are
millennial (aged 18 – 34 54%), those with the least amount of household income (less
than $50,000 per annum 35%), and those who are the highest educated (university+
40%).

Three in ten (29%) Canadians indicate that they are considering moving or
buying a home out of the city to get more for their money. This sentiment
appears to be highest in both Ontario/Québec (30%), followed by those living in British
Columbia (29%), Manitoba/Saskatchewan (28%), Alberta (27%), and Atlantic Canada
(19%). Those who are male (31%) are more likely than female (26%) to hold this view
along with those who are millennial (aged 18 – 34 48%) compared with those who are
middle-aged (35 – 54 27%) or older (55+ 15%). Those who are highest educated
(university+ 35%) and with the highest level of household income ($100,000+ 30%)
also lead with this view over others in their respective categories.

Upgrades or Renovations

Six in 10 (58%) of homeowners indicate that they have plans to make
upgrades or renovations to their current home. This includes a total of three in
ten (28%) homeowners who intend to do so within the next six months along with an
almost equal number (30%) who indicate that this will likely be the case within the next
one to two years.

Those most likely to be considering an upgrade or renovation to
their current home (58%) are most likely to reside in
Manitoba/Saskatchewan (70%), followed by those living in Alberta (62%),
Ontario (59%), Atlantic Canada (58%), Québec (54%), and British Columbia
(52%). Of those who are planning upgrades or renovations within the next
six months (28%) they are most likely to reside in Manitoba/Saskatchewan
(38%) followed by those living in Alberta (30%), Ontario (29%), Atlantic
Canada (27%), Québec (26%), and British Columbia (19%). Millennial’s
(aged 18 – 34 34%) are most likely to be undertaking upgrades and/or
renovations in the short-term, along with those who are he highest income
earners (35%), and those who are the highest educated (32%). There is no
differentiation with respect to gender.

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Among those who plan to undertake renovations, the backyard (33%) is
most likely to be the place where this will occur, followed by the bathroom
(30%), kitchen (28%), basement (21%), living room (16%), workspace (7%),
and adding an extension on to their existing home (5%). One quarter (23%)
indicate that their renovations will be “other”.

Home Ownership

Asked which of the following best describes their current home
ownership situation, two thirds (64%) of Canadians indicated they own
their own home [on my own or with a partner, family member(s) or friend(s)]
compared with one in 10 (8%) who say that they are living with their parent(s)
in their home, one quarter (26%) who say they are renting their current home,
along with those who volunteered “other” (3%).

When asked to provide a timeframe when they purchased their home,
the vast number of owners (71%) indicate that they did so more than five years
ago, one in five (21%) who purchased between one and five years ago, and one
in ten (9%) who purchased in the past year.

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Methodology

These are the findings of a Maru Public Opinion survey conducted for Scotiabank by
the sample and data services experts at Maru between March 17– 19, 2021 among
3,017 randomly selected Canadian adults who are Maru Voice Canada online
panelists. For comparison purposes, a probability sample of this size has an
estimated margin of error (which measures sampling variability) of +/- 1.8%, 19
times out of 20. The results have been weighted by education, age, gender and
language in Quebec to match the population according to Census data which
ensures the sample is representative of the entire Canadian adult population.
Discrepancies in or between totals when compared to the data tables are due to
rounding.

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Maru/Blue https://www.marugroup.net/maru-blue is rooted in the Maru/HUB technology
platform and offers on-demand, high quality, highly scalable online community samples
of deeply engaged, known respondents. Excerpts from this release of findings should be
properly attributed, with interpretation subject to clarification or correction. Maru Public
Opinion posts its polling releases, accompanying data tables, and a description of its
services at https://www.marugroup.net/polling. Maru Public Opinion does not do any
work for any political party.

For more information contact:

John Wright
Executive Vice President
Maru Public Opinion
Direct Toronto +1.416.919.2101
Direct New York +1.917.594.5555
john.wright@marublue.com

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       www.marugroup.net / www.marugroup.net/polling is the research channel for Maru Group.

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