Canadians Showing Restrained Optimism Regarding Economy

According to a new poll released by Economic Club of Canada/POLLARA, Canadians are showing a restrained optimism in terms of the economy.

The poll shows that, although there is an increase in confidence on economic growth,Canadians are less positive about the state of the economy as whole at the beginning of 2011 than they were at the beginning of 2010.

30% of Canadians indicate that at economy is in a state of moderate growth heading into 2011, which is compared to 17% in December 2009; worries about a severe recession happening have fallen from 17% in December 2009 to less than 10% in December 2010.
However, only 38% of Canadians surveyed feel the Canadian economy will improve in the next twelve months, compared to 54% who felt that way in December 2009. One in five Canadians feel the Canadian economy will actually worsen in 2011, compared to 14% who felt that way one year ago.

"Canadians were feeling overly bullish on economic recovery this time last year," said Michael Marzolini, Chairman of POLLARA "But clearly, these lofty expectations in Canada and around the world have not yet been met, and Canadians are now more measured in their feelings about the economy."

Results for this poll were taken from 2560 respondents on POLLARA's online panel between December 10-15, 2010, and weighted by age, gender and region to ensure they are based upon a representative sub-section of Canada's population. The margin of error in such a survey is 1.9%, 19 times out of 20.

Although there has been a slight dip in economic optimism, Canadians, for the most part are feeling more optimistic about Canada's economy than in other locations globally. 42% of Canadians feel the US economy will get worse in 2011, compared with 19% who feel it will get better. Regarding the Global economy, 43% of Canadians feel it get worse over the next year, compared to 20% who feel the Global economy will improve.

“Canada's economic performance has not gone unnoticed by Canadians," said Economic Club of Canada President Mark Adler. "Compared to the rest of the world, Canadians clearly feel more secure with their own domestic economic performance and its prospects for the future."

Canadians listed their top economic concerns as: the cost of living (78%), Government deficit and national debt (72%), having enough money to retire (70%), healthcare costs (69%), value of their investments (57%), and own family debt load (55%).

Written by Newsroom,  Propertywire

Monday, 10 January 2011

Third Best Year for Existing Home Sales

January 6, 2011 -- Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 4,395 existing home sales for the month of December, bringing the 2010 total to 86,170 – down by one per cent compared to 2009.

"Market conditions were anything but uniform in 2010. We went from super-charged sales activity during the first four months of the year, to a marked drop-off in transactions in the summer and then in the fall saw sales climb back to levels that are sustainable over the longer term," said TREB President Bill Johnston.

"New Federal Government-mandated mortgage lending guidelines, higher borrowing costs and misconceptions about the HST caused a pause in home buying in the summer. As it became clear that the HST was not applicable to the sale price of an existing home and buyers realized that home ownership remained affordable, market conditions improved," continued Johnston.

The average home selling price in 2010 was $431,463 – up nine per cent in comparison to the 2009 average selling price of $395,460. In December, the average annual rate of price growth was five per cent.

"At the outset of 2010, we were experiencing annual rates of price growth at or near 20 per cent. This was the result of extremely tight market conditions coupled with the fact that we were comparing prices to the trough of the recession at the beginning of 2009," said Jason Mercer, TREB's Senior Manager of Market Analysis.

"Balanced market conditions in the second half of 2010 resulted in more moderate home price appreciation," continued Mercer. "Expect the average selling price to grow at or below five per cent in 2011. With this type of growth, mortgage carrying costs for the average priced home in the GTA will remain affordable for a household earning an average income."

Median Price

In December, the median price was $355,000, from the $349,000 recorded during December of 2009.

Source: Treb