More Canadians Plan To Buy A Home: Study Conducted By Ipsos Reid
Here is an article written by Becky Rynor of the Financial Post. She summarizes a survey conducted by Ipsos Reid that details Canadians’ feelings about the current real estate market. It would be interesting to find out how Kamloops residents feel about the current real estate market here in our city. I would love to hear your opinion. Read below for the full article.
Most Canadians believe it is a home buyers market, with more first-timers planning on purchasing their own homes, according to a study released today by Royal Bank of Canada. “The current economic environment does not appear to have dampened Canadians’ overall confidence in the housing market,” says Royal Bank spokeswoman Karen Leggett. “Canadians continue to have an overwhelming belief in the long-term value of a home and we’re seeing this in the buying intentions of many first time home buyers this year.”
In its 16th annual RBC home ownership survey, 65% of Canadians said they believe it’s a buyer’s market, with 27% saying they intend to buy a new home over the next two years. RBC says that’s up from 23% in 2008.
The survey, conducted by Ipsos Reid, shows that almost half of respondents, 48%, said it makes sense to buy a home now instead of waiting until next year.
Younger Canadians, those under 35 years old, are most likely to spark an upsurge in homes sales, with 48% saying they plan to buy a home. That’s up sharply from 36% last year. And even renters want to get in on the action: 38% of them want to buy in the next two years.
“Low mortgage rates and favourable housing prices are influencing home purchase intentions this year and may be the reason why more Canadians are poised to purchase over the next two years,” RBC says.
A large majority of Canadians, 83%, remain positive that home ownership is a good investment. That is down slightly from 85% in 2008 and from the all-time high of 90% in 2006. Fifty-four percent of respondents said they believe house prices will be lower in 2009, a substantial change from 31% in 2008.
Nationally, respondents in Alberta expressed most interest (35%) in buying. Quebec was lowest at 22%. Those in British Columbia believed most that now is a buyer’s market (78%), compared with Saskatchewan/Manitoba, where only 34% believe so.
In Ontario, home-buying intentions have increased over past year, with 30% saying they are likely to purchase a home within the next two years. That’s up from 21% in 2008.
The online survey of 2,026 adults was conducted between Jan. 6 and 9, 2009. Ipsos Reid said the results are accurate to within plus or minus 2.2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
Heffley Creek is a community that is located 20 minutes north of the Kamloops city centre and five minutes from Rayleigh. There are numerous communities that comprise this area: Heffley Creek, Heffley Lake, Knouff (Sullivan) Lake and Whitecroft. Elementary students attend 
family homes on smaller lots. Some parts of Heffley Creek run along the Thompson river where a number of beautiful riverfront acreage and farm properties exist. There is not anything in the way of shopping in the Heffley area besides the small convenience store on the old #5 highway. Residents have to do their shopping in Kamloops.
Heffley lake is a beautiful lake located off Heffley-Louis Creek Road and Todd Mountain Road 44 kilometers from Kamloops. This lake is on the way to Sun Peaks resort. There are numerous waterfront properties on this lake. The homes and cabins range in size and age. There are a number of old cabins that are used in the summer months and beautiful homes overlooking the lake used year round. Heffley lake is a mid sized lake that does allow motor boats, water skiing and wake boarding. This lake is 7.2 kilometers long, 550 acres in size and ranges from 6 to 30 meters deep. Fly fishers find rainbow trout in this lake between May and late July. There are two parts of Heffley Lake – Little Heffley Lake and Big Heffley Lake. Big Heffley is predominantly the lake for motor boats and many lakefront properties. There are two resorts on Heffley Lake as well as a BC Forestry campsite. Some of the streets that surround Heffley 
Lake are Lakeshore Road, Lower Heffley Lake Road, Shaw Road, Fisher Road, Lake Bay Road and Heffley Lake Road.
Knouff Lake also known as Sullivan Lake is located north of Heffley Lake about 25 minutes from Heffley Creek (Yellowhead Highway #5 at Todd Mountain Road). The lake is 254.4 acres in size with a mean depth of 9.8 meters and a max depth of 24.1 meters. Knouff Lake is a small community that is still relatively undeveloped and accessed by a well maintained dirt and gravel road. There are a number of building lots and homes on Knouff lake. The area is dominated by single family homes and cabins. Gas powered motors are not permitted on this lake therefore neither is waterskiing and wakeboarding. Electric powered motors are permitted allowing small boats to troll the lake. Canoeing, kayaking, swimming, hiking, snowmobiling, ice fishing, hunting, cross country skiing, skating and camping are popular activies on Knouff lake. There is one resort on this lake as well as a BC Forestry campsite with RV access and a boat launch. Some of the roads found in the Knouff Lake area are: Doyle Road, Knouff Lake Road, McCully Road and Finlay Road.