Consumer Confidence in Ontario's Real Estate Markets Growing, New Research Shows

TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - July 23, 2015) - More Ontarians now have a favourable opinion of the real estate market in their local city or town, 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. Six out of 10 Ontarians (60%) described the current residential real estate market in their city or town as 'favourable', up three points from this time last year.

When asked to compare their local real estate markets to one year ago, once again Ontarians showed a positive shift in sentiment:

• 41% of Ontarians surveyed say they view the residential resale market in their own neighbourhood as stronger than it was a year ago (34% said so last year)
• 39% say they view the real estate market in their city or town as stronger than it was a year ago (35% last year)

"What we've noticed with this wave of research, is that on the whole, Ontarians' perceptions of the provincial economy and real estate market have remained stable year-over-year," says Patricia Verge, president, OREA. "It's when we asked Ontarians about their perceptions of their local markets -- their neighbourhood or city/town -- that we see a more significant change in sentiment. Naturally, Ontarians are more in tune with what their local markets are doing. This overall increase in positive sentiment therefore, is encouraging."

When asked about their city's future real estate market, once again Ontarians appear more optimistic than a year ago:

• 40% of Ontarians said that their city/town's real estate market will be stronger in the next year, compared to 34% this time last year
• Looking ahead to the next ten years, 49% said their city/town's real estate market will be stronger, compared to 46% this time last year

"According to the research, Ontarians expect growth in local real estate markets," says Verge. "GTA residents, for example exhibited a considerable upswing in sentiment where local real estate markets are concerned."

Survey Highlights - Greater Toronto Area (GTA)

• 66% of GTA residents described the state of their city's economy as 'good' (62% last year)
• 66% of GTA residents describe the current residential real estate market in their city or town as favourable (61% last year)
• Compared to one year ago, 49% of GTA residents described the residential real estate market in their city or town as 'stronger' (43% last year)
• Looking ahead to the next year, 46% of GTA residents said the real estate market in their city will be 'stronger' (38% last year)

To read a copy of the full Ipsos Reid factum, visit http://ipsos-na.com/news-polls/pressrelease.aspx?id=6920

Methodology
These are some of the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted between May 20^th and 24^th, 2015, 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 case, the poll is accurate to within +/-3.5 percentage points of what the results would be 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

Attachment Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2015/7/22/11G048441/140234_OREA_Infograph_Con_2015-958978749907.pdf