Ontarians Feel Better About Economy, Real Estate Markets This Year Compared to Last, New Research Shows

TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - December 23, 2014) - Six-in-ten (59%) Ontarians say the state of their city's economy is "good" right now, up from 53% this time last year, according to the Ontario Home Ownership Index, a bi-annual research study commissioned by the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA) and conducted by Ipsos Reid. Furthermore, 33% say their city's real estate market is stronger compared to a year ago, a slight increase from 29% last year.

"In fall 2013, the Ontario Home Ownership Index was set to a benchmark of 100 points -- this fall, the Index rose to 108 points," says Sean Simpson, vice president, Ipsos Reid Public Affairs. "What that means is that consumers currently feel better about their real estate markets and economy than they did last year. Factors such as low mortgage rates, provincial job growth, and two elections this year may have something to do with the upswing in perceptions."

How Ontarians feel about the year ahead has remained consistent; their expectations of the next ten years have softened slightly. The Ontario Home Ownership Index, which measures Ontarians' outlook of the residential real estate market, their real estate plans and market trends, found that:

• Looking ahead to the next year, 36% of Ontarians say the residential real estate market in their city or town will be stronger (compared to 34% last year)
• Looking ahead to the next ten years, 47% say the residential real estate market in their city or town will be stronger (compared to 52% last year)

"The fact that the ten-year forecast continues to be stronger than short-term sentiment speaks to the long-term value that Ontarians place in owning a home," says Simpson. "While real estate markets can ebb and flow, over the long-run there is a belief that real estate markets will be stronger than they are even today."

Regional Survey Highlights

GTA

• 66% of GTA residents described the state of their city's economy as "good" (63% last year)
• Compared to one year ago, 41% of GTA residents described the residential real estate market in their city or town as "stronger" (35% last year)
• Looking ahead to the next year, 40% of GTA residents said the real estate market in their city will be "stronger" (38% last year)

Central

• 43% of Central Ontario residents described the state of their city's economy as "good" (37% last year)
• Compared to one year ago, 22% of Central Ontario residents described the residential real estate market in their city or town as "stronger" (23% last year)
• Looking ahead to the next year, 34% of Central Ontario residents said the real estate market in their city will be "stronger" (32% last year)

East

• Seven in ten (69%) Eastern Ontario residents described the state of their city's economy as "good" (54% last year)
• Compared to one year ago, 17% of Eastern Ontario residents described the residential real estate market in their city or town as "stronger" (21% last year)
• Looking ahead to the next year, 29% of Eastern Ontario residents said the real estate market in their city will be "stronger" (26% last year)

South West

• Half of South Western Ontarians (51%) described the state of their city's economy as "good" (43% last year)
• Compared to one year ago, 31% of South Western Ontarians described the residential real estate market in their city or town as "stronger" (25% last year)
• Looking ahead to the next year, 34% of South Western Ontario residents said the real estate market in their city will be "stronger" (32% last year)

North*

• 43% of Northern Ontarians described the state of their city's economy as "good" (42% last year)
• Compared to one year ago, 28% of Northern Ontarians described the residential real estate market in their city or town as "stronger" (24% last year)
• Looking ahead to the next year, 29% of Northern Ontarians said the real estate market in their city will be "stronger" (26% last year)

* denotes small base size (under n=100)

To read a copy of the full Ipsos Reid factum, visit http://ipsos-na.com/news-polls/pressrelease.aspx?id=6710

Methodology
These are some of the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted between October 28 and November 4, 2014 on behalf of the Ontario Real Estate Association. For this survey, a sample of 1,000 Ontarians from Ipsos' Canadian online panel was interviewed online. Weighting was then employed to balance demographics to 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. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this study, the poll is accurate to within +/-3.5 percentage points had all adults in Ontario been surveyed. 

About The Ontario Home Ownership Index
The Ontario Home Ownership Index is designed to reflect Ontarians' overall views of the residential real estate market in Ontario, and incorporates measures such as Ontarians' perceptions of whether the market in their neighbourhood, city, and Ontario, respectively, have improved or worsened in the last year and looking ahead into the future, whether home ownership is important to them and whether it is a good investment in the long-term. The first wave of the index, conducted in the fall 2013, was set to a baseline of 100 points.

About the Ontario Real Estate Association 
The Ontario Real Estate Association represents 60,000 brokers and salespeople who are members of the 40 real estate boards throughout the province. OREA serves its REALTOR® members through a wide variety of professional publications, educational programs, advocacy, and other services. www.OREA.com