RBC study finds energy efficient features important consideration
for potential home buyers this year
TORONTO, March 25, 2009 — According to the 16th
Annual RBC Homeownership Study, almost all (95 per cent) Canadians
said that low energy consumption is an important consideration
when buying a home. Energy efficiency is rated just as important
as the look and appearance of the home, cited by 94 per cent.
"Our study indicates that low mortgage rates and favourable
housing prices are definitely influencing buying intentions
this year," said Karen Leggett, head, Home Equity Financing,
RBC Royal Bank. "But in today's economy, we're also seeing
that many Canadians are increasingly mindful of longer term
home features that will reduce their monthly energy costs."
An overwhelming 93 per cent of those planning to buy a home
in the next two years are in favour of having a standardized
energy rating available for all homes and three-quarters (77
per cent) also believe that environment friendly features
are important factors to be considered when buying a home.
Downsizing is also gaining steam with 27 per cent of potential
home buyers intending to buy a smaller home in the next two
years, which is up significantly from
19 per cent in 2008, and 14 per cent a decade ago. Despite
the shift towards downsizing, detached homes still remain
the preferred choice (68 per cent) for Canadians looking to
buy in the next two years, followed by condominiums and lofts
(12 per cent), townhouses (eight per cent) and semi-detached
homes (six per cent).
"Whether you choose to downsize or improve the energy
efficiency of your home, there are a number of ways Canadians
can save costs. One recommendation is a home energy audit
and RBC is offering a $300 rebate on an audit with our energy
saver mortgage," added Leggett.
RBC's Energy Saver Mortgage provides financial tools and
advice to help Canadians determine the options that will provide
homeowners with a greater return on their investment, through
lowered utility costs and future higher resale value www.rbc.com/energysaver.
RBC is also the proud sponsor of "Now House" -
part of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation's Equilibrium™
sustainable housing initiative. Designed to generate as much
energy as it uses, the "Now House" is a retrofit
of a 60-year-old war time house. It features sustainable building
technologies such as upgraded insulation, reduced air leakage,
new windows, radiant floor heating, and the installation of
solar panels and provides a real example of how you can take
a typical, inefficient house and make changes to increase
its energy and water efficiency. To learn more about the "Now
House" visit, www.rbc.com/nowhouse.
These are some of the findings of an RBC poll conducted by
Ipsos Reid between January 6 to 9, 2009. The online survey
is based on a randomly selected representative sample of 2,026
adult Canadians. With a representative sample of this size,
the results are considered accurate to within ±2.2
percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would
have been had the entire adult Canadian population been polled.
The margin of error will be larger within regions and for
other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were
statistically weighted to ensure the sample's regional and
age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population
according to the 2006 Census data.
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Media contacts:
RBC
Kerry Gaetano, (905) 816-5583;
Jacqui van der Jagt 416 974-1756
Ipsos Reid
Sean Simpson, (416) 572-4474
For full tabular results, please see the Ipsos Reid website
at www.ipsos.ca.
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