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Housing Prices a Concern Across Canada, Not Just Vancouver


Under Market Updates

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February 29th, 2016

Vancouverites might scoff, but it appears most Canadians agree that housing prices are too high, no matter where you live.

According to a new survey conducted by the Angus Reid Institute, nearly half of Canadians polled living in urban centres say, “the cost of buying a place to live in their neighbourhoods is either ‘high’ or ‘unreasonably high.’”

Some 32% say housing prices are “unreasonably high,” while 23% say it’s “high, but understandable given the area.” Another 32% say it’s “reasonable overall,” while just 5% say house prices for their area are “maybe a bit too low” and 8% were uncertain.

Perceptions of real-estate prices is also broken down by city.

In Metro Vancouver, 70% of respondents said housing prices were “unreasonably high,” while 17% said they were “high, but understandable given the area.”

“Looking at the data in this way, it’s clear that Vancouver-area residents remain most frustrated by real-estate costs,” read a summary released late Thursday. “However, as (these poll results) demonstrate, a significant proportion of residents in smaller urban centres don’t exactly see themselves rolling in clover when it comes to their own markets.”

Two out of three respondents also agreed that government should do more to rein in the real-estate market.

In BC, 74% of respondents said government should be more involved.

Just this month, rule changes brought in by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation required a 10% down payment, up from 5%, on purchases of property priced at $500,000 or more. Even so, the survey found that roughly three-quarters of Canadians still had no plans to buy property in 2016.

The average Vancouver house price is at just over $1 million, while Halifax boasts the lowest average at $262,027.

The survey was conducted online between Feb. 2 and 10, from a random sample of 5,867 Canadian adults. A probability sample of this size carries a margin of error of +/- 1.3 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

     Housing prices a concern across Canada

Housing Prices a Concern Across Canada, Not Just Vancouver by Stephanie Ip | The Province

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